


What Tomorrow May Bring

by LureOfTheSiren



Series: What Tomorrow May Bring [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blow Jobs, Chapters are paired- Part 1s are reader’s POV Part 2s are Ignis’s POV, F/M, Falling In Love, Kitchen Sex, Loss of Virginity, Masturbation, Masturbation in Shower, Mild Violence and Gore, Minor Character Death, Mutual Pining, Oral Sex, Reader-Insert, Self-Doubt, Slow Burn, Vaginal Sex, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-07
Updated: 2018-05-16
Packaged: 2019-02-12 00:31:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 118,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12947412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LureOfTheSiren/pseuds/LureOfTheSiren
Summary: Your new job at the Citadel opens a path to a budding love between you and Ignis. Is this just a fleeting crush or the beginning of a lifelong relationship? Time will tell.





	1. The Beginning Part 1

Your job at the Citadel as a tour liaison had been a life saver in more ways than one. It afforded you the ability to move out of your parents’ home into your own apartment and start your adventure into adulthood. You were able to apply your college degree in history, while continuing to learn more than you could have ever dreamed about the comings and goings of Citadel life and the history of the Lucian kings. But perhaps most importantly, it brought with it the opportunity for Ignis Scientia to come into your life.

You first encountered him during your second day of training when you were learning about the royal kitchens and the typical daily fare they prepared. Your supervisor was explaining how to handle this stop on your tours and the best way to keep the guests out of the way of the kitchen staff, while still giving them a peek into this part of royal life.

Normally the staff were on break at this time, but as you walked through the doors you noticed there was one man waiting on what looked to be some round pastries cooling on the counter. Noticing your arrival, he hurriedly stacked them onto a plate and excused himself past you, stealing a quick glance back. Damn but if he wasn’t extraordinarily handsome.

“I hope all of the kitchen staff are that good looking!” you joked with your supervisor after you were sure he was out of earshot.

She choked in response and finally managed a stifled laugh. “He is actually a member of the Crownsguard and one of Prince Noctis’s royal retainers and personal advisor. He has quite the penchant for cooking. Who would know?!”

“Oh!” You blushed in response. Leave it to you to go for the unobtainable. Secretly, though, you hope you would see more of him during the days to come.

You weren’t disappointed.

                    _________________

Despite not having access to the private levels and rooms of the Citadel, you seemed to cross paths with Ignis more than you would have imagined.

You would pass him in the commoner’s halls on his way to and from his daily Crownsguard duties while you were doing a tour, see him come and go from the front entrance during the lunch hour while you were manning the greeting desk between tours, and once he even stopped for a moment while you were explaining the significance and history behind the artwork that lie just outside the throne room. He seemed to be entranced by your speech. When you gathered the courage to make eye contact with him, you could feel a blush start to stain your cheeks. He nodded to you and then continued on his way.  

You had never really said more to each other than a ‘good day’ in passing, so what were you thinking? He is a retainer for the prince, for the Six’s sake. It was a silly crush. He was out of your league, but you just couldn’t help but hope there was a chance for someone like you and him.   
  
                    _________________

You had never been with anyone sexually, but that didn’t stop you from pleasuring yourself to the thoughts of what it would be like to be intimate with someone. Settling down in bed after a long day and a relaxing shower, you couldn’t help but let your hands slip underneath your panties to caress your already burning nub. You already knew where your thoughts were going and there was little use in resisting them.

The only thing that surprised you tonight was _who_  your thoughts drifted to. The prince’s advisor was not like any other man you had laid eyes on. Handsome, smart, composed, and, oh, the body that you could only imagine lie under those neatly pressed clothes.

Your thoughts turned to you sitting on Ignis’s lap, unbuttoning his shirt, slowly revealing firm, but not overly defined pecs. You would push his suspenders down over his shoulders leaving them at the sides of his arms to make him feel like you were restraining him. You would nip at his neck and across his collarbone, hearing his breath become ragged with arousal. Finishing with the buttons, you would push his shirt open further to reveal his toned torso. You would then start to work on opening his belt buckle, eager to release the bulge at the front of his pants.

Your fingers were now working faster at your clit. You imagined pulling his cock, dripping pre-cum and rock hard in readiness, out from it’s hiding place. In a feverish hurry to have him inside you, you would hitch your skirt up and pull your panties to the side, lowering yourself down onto his lengthy girth, feeling it stretching you to fullness. You imagined grinding your hips up and down on him, eliciting noises from him that no one would ever expect such a proper and reserved man to make. At the thought of his voice moaning your name, you felt the hot coil of your release building in you as your fingers were now frantic beneath your sheets. Turning your head to the side you moaned as your climax washed over you stronger than it ever had before.

After your breathing calmed down and your thoughts cleared you inwardly shook your head at yourself for the turn your thoughts had taken and drifted off to sleep.

                    _________________

Once a week you worked late into the evening after the Citadel was closed to the public, brushing up on your history and meeting with your supervisor to come up with new tour ideas.

It was already after dark when you reached your car in the parking garage under the building, only to get in to an engine that wouldn’t turn over.

Great, just great, you thought to yourself, head slumped on the steering wheel. You should have listened to the mechanic when she recommended that tune up you thought was unnecessary and just a way to extort extra money from you.

You gathered your belongings from the passenger seat and started to head back up to street level to hopefully catch a taxi, or worse, a subway train back to your apartment. And to make the situation even better, it had been pouring rain all day.

As you walked back towards the elevator, you were startled as you heard a cough off to your side. Glancing over in the direction it came from, you saw none other than the source of your increasingly inappropriate crush standing by his half opened driver door.

“Is everything ok?” He said in that accent that made you want to melt into a puddle on the spot.

“Uh, yeah,” you stammered. “Car trouble,” shooting a rolled eye expression back from the direction you came from. “Looks like public transportation for me tonight!”

You started to continue your walk to the elevator, your sudden nervousness in his presence making your pace a bit quicker than before. The Six really has it out for you tonight, you thought.

You heard that lovely lilt call after you, “If you would like, I would be more than happy to give you a lift home.”

You stopped in your tracks. The idea of riding next to him in his opulent car after knowing you had been masturbating to lurid thoughts of him was enough to drain almost all the blood from your head. Not turning to fully face him, you started rambling.

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to trouble you this late. It’s no problem, I’m sure a taxi will come by soon, and if not...”

“It is quite alright to say yes, if that is what you truly mean,” he smiled slightly. “There is no need to make humble excuses for me. ‘Tis no inconvenience, so long as you don’t mind a quick coffee stop.”

Try as you might, with your mind both racing with thoughts and at a loss for words all at once, you had no other choice but to sigh and take him up on his offer.

His genuine smile relaxed you a bit as he unlocked the passenger door for you to get in.  
His car was immaculately spotless and smelled like it just rolled off the assembly line.

Embarrassingly, you thought of your own seven year old car, broken and abandoned a few spaces back. Astrals knew when it had last been washed and the floors and back seat overflowed with old fast food bags and junk food wrappers.

“So, I don’t think we have ever been properly introduced,” he broke the silence.

“Uh, no I suppose we haven’t.” You were starting to stammer again, cursing your normally confident self. “My name’s y/n.”

“Ignis Scientia,” he said as he looked over his shoulder to back out of the the parking spot.

“Oh, I know,” you admitted perhaps a bit too quickly, a blush starting to spread across your cheeks.

He turned to you with a slightly inquisitive look. You never realized just how green his eyes were under those glasses. How you would love to slide them off his face and lean in for a kiss...

He turned his head back to pay attention to driving and you were pulled out of your reverie. You realized that you must have been staring at him while you were lost in thought. He must think you just another lovestruck female citadel worker, you disappointedly thought. Could you imagine if he only knew what your thoughts of him had really developed into as of late? You didn’t stand a cold chance in hell with a man of his position and good looks. You inwardly sighed.

“It’s my job as tour liaison to know the ins and outs of the Citadel, as well as the key players in the royal court,” you quickly added.

“Ah, indeed,” he responded without looking at you, slight disappointment tinting his words.


	2. The Beginning Part 2

Ignis Scientia was a constant presence in the halls of the Citadel. Whether he was coming or going from meetings, running errands for Prince Noctis or King Regis, or taking care of his Crownsguard duties. His position of royal retainer and advisor to the prince was determined years ago when he was just a small child. This was his life and he never questioned a moment of it.

Even with all of the responsibilities assigned to him, he took one more duty upon himself and had become increasingly consumed by it - recreating the exact pastry the prince had as a child on a visit to Tenebrae. How Noctis could remember all these years later exactly what it had tasted like eluded Ignis. All of his attempts so far had ended in slight failure, one key ingredient or another ending up just not quite right.

Thus his current state of affairs in the empty royal kitchens. The staff being on break between lunch and dinner gave him time to work on a new twist for the recipe without being under anyone’s feet. Ignis was adjusting the crust this time, making it more flaky and pie-like.

As the pastries finished cooling he took the time to catch up on his emails on his phone. Distracted, he almost didn’t hear the steps approaching the door along with two female voices.

“One of the stops on your tours will be the royal kitchens. You can bring the visitors into the main kitchen, but make sure they stay just inside the doors so as not to interrupt the staff.”

Wanting to avoid getting caught up in this mundane conversation, Ignis quickly put his phone away and began to gather the pastries up as the women walked into the room.

  
It seems the turnover in the tour department has been quite high as of late, he thought to himself. How many trainees does this make in the last few weeks?

Excusing himself past them he glanced up to the new hire making eye contact. You had a simple beauty that made him take a second glance back at you as he made his way out the door. You were still looking at him as well. His heart fluttered a bit.

                    _________________

Ignis, although not exceptionally outgoing and social, attracted his fair share of attention from women. He was gracefully handsome, well-groomed, and well-mannered. Whether he purposely chose to ignore the subtle advances he got at times or was just oblivious to them he couldn’t even answer for himself, but honestly none of the women he came across really sparked any interest in him. Until now...

The day you had chanced upon him in the kitchen caught his fancy enough to make him seek out more information on you. Your name was y/n and you were his age. You had graduated high school and college early and majored in history. Intelligent as well as beautiful. He checked both boxes off in his mind.

He happened upon you quite often over the next few weeks out of pure coincidence. You spoke to the guests with such passion about the Citadel and the history of Lucis, that it made him almost forget that you were basically telling the story of his life. He was so enthralled with your voice and stories that one day while you were explaining the artwork outside the throne room to a tour group, he became part of them for a moment. He could almost imagine he was a commoner hearing these tales of magic and glory for the first time. Shaking himself out of his thoughts he glanced up to you and thought he saw a slight blush dust your cheeks. He nodded to you with a small smile and continued on his way to his office.

He slid into his desk chair with a sigh. His heart raced a bit at the thought of being bold and asking you out for lunch some day. The sensible part of his brain told him he didn’t deserve someone like you. He would only disappoint you when he had to devote so much of his life to the crown. With another sigh he pushed his thoughts of you aside and returned to his work.

                    _________________

It had been a long day of boring meetings that Ignis attended in Noct’s stead. At least school was the prince’s excuse this time, not sleeping in. He truly thought he was going to end up spending the night sleeping over in his office. The comfort of actually being able to go home to his small apartment was a welcome treat on days like these. He shrugged his jacket off and grabbed a can of Ebony from the refrigerator. A good, hot shower would be nice before he heated up his dinner, he thought.

Stepping under the steaming water he glanced down at his hardening length with a bit of a sigh. No wonder people jokingly say men think with their cocks - it did seem to have quite the mind of its own at times.

He had never been with anyone romantically, not that he had any restrictions from doing so. It was just the constraints of his position made it hard to truly get to know anyone and the idea of a superficial relationship purely for sex did nothing for him. He sufficed with indulging in the occasional date with his hand when his urges got the best of him.

Sliding his hand up the length of his cock he circled his palm around the head and languidly back down to the base. Your face flashed to his mind this time instead of the usual nameless women he would think of to get the job done. Try as he might to tell himself you were just a fleeting crush, he could not help himself from hoping for something more. And now you were in _these_ thoughts.

He imagined he was in the royal kitchens after hours working on his latest attempt to recreate the pastry that resides in Noct’s memory. Lost in thought he didn’t hear you coming up behind him, arms snaking around his waist. Leaning around his side, you would take hold of his hand and dip his finger into the pastry cream he was making, pulling it back to your lips. You would suck his finger into your mouth, tongue seductively massaging it, moaning an appreciative “mmmm” that vibrated straight to his cock. Turning to face you he would realize you were wearing nothing more than an apron that just barely covered all of your naughty parts.  
His cock twitched in his hand as he picked up his pace, pausing to massage his sack every now and then. His other hand bracing himself against the shower wall.

He pictured his lips crashing into yours as he hoisted your legs around his hips. He would swing you around, pushing the forgotten bowl of cream to the side and depositing your bare buttocks on the floury countertop. He would push the flimsy apron you were wearing up to your hips and push your knees back and apart. Stepping back he would stare appreciatively at your bared sex, already glistening with your arousal for him.  
He would push you back to your elbows and lift your legs over his shoulders as he leaned in taking a first, tentative lick at your folds. Hearing the gasped moan you released drove him to suck your nub into his mouth, then circle his tongue furiously around it, pausing to lick down to your entrance now and then.  
He was now moving his hips to push himself faster into his hand, his other hand cupping and squeezing his sack. His shoulder was leaning against the wall for support. The water from the shower now falling unnoticed against his skin.

He would feel your legs beginning to quiver as your release was starting to build. Pulling away from you, you would let out a needy moan at the abrupt stop in his ministrations. He would unbuckle his pants and free his straining cock, penetrating you quickly before you missed his stimulation for much longer. You would fall back in ecstasy as he pulled the apron up around your head, discarding it to the floor and baring your nakedness in its entirety to him.

He would suck a hardened nipple into his mouth while picking up his pace, pounding into you over and over. You were so tight and hot around his cock. As you began to shudder with your release, you would moan his name, your insides clenching down on him in waves. Inside you in his fantasy and in his hand in reality, he came hard and fast, moaning his release with his head thrown back.  
As his breath evened out he slowly came back to the present. Almost embarrassed at the fantasy he had just indulged in, he agreed with himself again that men don’t always think with their minds.

                    _________________

Another day of meetings on Noctis’s behalf found Ignis staying at his office until after dark typing up the reports and highlighting the important points for the prince. Finally finishing, he stretched back in his chair. A good hot cup of Ebony would be wonderful right about now, he thought, as he packed up his belongings to head home for the night. A quick stop at the coffee shop down the street would take but a few minutes of his time.

He locked his office up and headed down to the parking garage. As he opened his car door and was about to get in he heard the clicking of heels approaching. It was y/n.

His chest tightened at the site of your beautiful face, which was actually twisted into a bit of a scowl at the moment. Remembering that he had a voice, he let out a quick warning cough so as not to completely surprise you.

“Is everything ok?”

Despite his attempt to notify you of his presence before speaking, you still looked like a anak caught in headlights. “Uh, yeah. Car trouble. Looks like public transportation for me tonight!” You turned to start to walk away again.

This just won’t do Ignis thought to himself. There is no way he could possibly let you go back up to the streets at this hour, and on top of that, in the rain. And this gave him the perfect opportunity to get closer to you, even if it was just a quick ride in his car. “If you would like, I would be more than happy to give you a lift home,” he called after you.

You stopped in your tracks with a look on your face like you were fighting a two sided conversation with some demons inside your mind. You rambled quickly on about not wanting to inconvenience him and finding a taxi.

Not wanting to let this chance slip by he quickly interrupted you, “It is quite alright to say yes, if that is what you truly mean. There is no need to make humble excuses for me. ‘Tis no inconvenience, so long as you don’t mind a quick coffee stop.” Yes, the coffee shop he planned to stop at. He had almost forgot about that. Everything was just too perfect, all you had to do was just agree to the ride.  
You opened and closed your mouth a few times trying to put words to your thoughts.

“Ok, if it’s really not a problem,” you finally said biting your lower lip. Ignis could hardly tear his gaze away from that small movement, memories of his time in the shower fantasizing about you coming to mind. Quickly he dismissed those thoughts. You are a gentleman, Ignis, not a lech, he reminded himself.

Smiling with the relief he felt with your agreement to his offer, he unlocked the passenger door for you.

As he started the car he realized that you had never truly spoken to each other for a length of time sufficient enough to properly introduce yourselves. He vocalized this to you. 

“My name is y/n,” you offered to his inquiry, even though he already knew.

“Ignis Scientia,” he spoke looking over his shoulder to back the car up.

“Oh, I know,” you said quickly with a small smile on your lips and a blush tinting your cheeks.

He turned and locked eyes with you wondering if you had tried to find out more about him the same as he had with you. Could you possibly have an interest in him too? The thought excited him. You were staring back at him seemingly lost in thought as well. Hard as it was, he had to break eye contact lest he wreck the car. Now that would be embarrassing.

“It’s my job as tour liaison to know the ins and outs of the Citadel, as well as the key players in the royal court,” you added once he turned his attention back to driving.

A stab of disappointment hit him. “Ah, indeed,” he responded.

Perhaps he was reading more into this conversation than there really was. Sighing inside his head he pulled out onto the street in the direction of the coffee shop.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! Newbie here - like really new, like the last time I wrote something was probably an essay in college 15 years ago. I’ve been lurking and enjoying everyone’s writings and finally found the courage to put my thoughts into my own fic. What I planned on writing as a one-shot is now going to be a multi chapter self indulgent adventure. I liked the twist that has been going on with the new Fifty Shades books with Christian’s POV so I thought I’d give it a try with Iggy.  
> Anyhow, enjoy! I hope to be able to get future chapters up sooner than later. I’m open to comments/suggestions- just please be gentle ;)


	3. The Gift Part 1

Ignis pulled his car into a parking spot outside the small coffee shop a few blocks down from the Citadel. Pausing with your hand on the door, you contemplated the best way to run into the cafe without getting soaked from the rain.

“Wait there for just a moment,” Ignis said to you as he got out of the driver’s side. He reappeared on your side of the car, opening the door with an umbrella ready for you both. He really is quite the gentleman, you thought.

Walking into the building, the smell of baked goods made you remember you really hadn’t ate much since lunchtime. Defying your will, your stomach growled loudly.

“Sounds like you are quite famished,” Ignis jested towards your abdomen. “I find that I am a bit peckish as well, do you have the time to get a bite to eat while we are here?”

You were never one to turn down food and nodded eagerly. “I’ve been wanting to try the grilled garula salad that they have here anyhow!”

You both stepped forward to the counter to order. The barista looked absolutely smitten with Ignis as he ordered a chickatrice panini and a hot Ebony. He amusingly seemed completely oblivious to her gawking.

A bit of jealousy surfaced in you, and it must have been showing on your face. Turning to you, her smile faded. “And for you, ‘mam?”

“Y/n,” Ignis finally interrupted the cold stare you were giving the poor girl. “Order whatever you would like, it is on me.”

You tried to protest. “Oh, you really don’t have to. I can pay for myself.”

Ignis turned to the worker before you could continue. “She’ll have the grilled garula salad, please.” Turning back to you he asked what you would like to drink.

“A hot Ebony sounds good to me too. Cream and sugar, please.” The girl nodded and turned to start preparing your order. “Thank you, Ignis. That really wasn’t necessary, though.”

“Of course it was. I was the one who asked to stop here. If you would like to grab a table for us, I’ll bring the food when it is ready,” he said.

Without thinking too much about it, you picked a table in the far corner where the barista couldn’t continue eyeing up Ignis. Just to be safe, you sat facing her direction so he would have his back to her. When you finally realized what you had almost unconsciously done, you chided yourself. Why are you acting like this? It’s not like you are here with him for any other reason than a ride home.

Ignis joined you shortly, dividing out the food as he sat. His panini looked divine, but your salad smelled otherworldly good. One bite and you were almost moaning in appreciation.

Amused he smirked at you over his sandwich he had held to his mouth. “I take it the salad lived up to your expectations?”

“Absolutely!” you said with a mouthful, shoveling another bite in.

You locked eyes with him for a moment and noticed how even more strikingly handsome he was up close. The end of a long work day had the top button of his shirt undone, showing his defined collarbones and his hair was hanging down across eyes instead of neatly combed to the side as usual.

“I wish I could get the prince to eat his vegetables as eagerly as you,” Ignis said wistfully.

You tried to cover a laugh. “And why would you be so worried about his vegetable intake?”

“Left on his own, I think he could survive solely on Cup Noodles and potato chips,” Ignis rolled his eyes. “Someone has to instill good eating habits in him.”

“I didn’t realize that was in your job description,” you mused. “There are many things that you would not think to be my duty, but, well, that is my life.” He waved the thoughts off with a sigh and looked like he was contemplating something for a few moments.

“Enough about me, tell me a bit about yourself,” he finally said.

You swallowed your last bite hard. What could you possibly tell him about yourself that would in the least bit interest him? Your fairly mundane, boring childhood? Your two cats? Your crochet hobby? First of all, you doubted any of those would make for good conversation with him. Second of all, they were all the makings of a crazy cat lady. Better to let him lead this one before you ended up putting your foot in your mouth.

“Well, what would you like to know?” you asked. You joined him in sipping on your coffee, both of you having devoured your food.

“Hmmm. You seem a bit young to be in your job position at the Citadel and you also seem to be quite well versed in history. Are you currently in college?”

“Yes, well, I actually already graduated with a history major this past spring. I am 19, by the way. I was able to graduate high school early. Everything just always came easy to me. I suppose it is both a blessing and a curse at times.” Everyone always had such high expectations of you. You couldn’t help but feel all you would ever be able to do was let people down in the end.

“Indeed, I can relate to that,” Ignis said. He had a look that made you feel as if he had just read your mind. “In my 20 years, I have always been ahead for my age. I feel honored that I am entrusted to do what duties I have been given, but it is quite easy to be overwhelmed by taking on more than your share just because others know you are capable of it.”

“Exactly!” you agreed.

Hmm, 20 years old. You would have guessed him for his mid-twenties. You guessed that being so responsible gave him the air of being older than he really was. At his age, most men acted like their teenage years were still going strong.

Ignis glanced at the time on his phone. “It is getting a bit late, perhaps we should be going?”

“Yes, we probably should,” you said. “At least it looks like the rain is finally letting up.”

In the car, you gave him your address and he started off. The ride was mostly quiet. You stared out the window at the passing city of Insomnia to avoid inevitably saying something awkward. Pulling up to your apartment high rise, Ignis put the car in park.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to exchange phone numbers with you.”

You felt your pulse skip for a second. He wants my phone number?!

Quickly he added, “In case you have trouble getting your car towed, or if you would need another ride to work.”

“Oh, of course,” you responded, holding back your disappointment. What were you really thinking this whole evening? That _the_ Ignis Scientia was actually interested in you?! You really needed to get in your apartment and take a cold shower and have a realistic conversation with your hormones. Just because someone shows you a kindness doesn’t mean they harbor any feelings for you.

“Thanks again for the ride and dinner,” you say, opening the door to get out.

“It was my pleasure,” he smiled. “Do have a good evening. I will see you at work tomorrow, yes?”

“Yes, I do work tomorrow. I’m sure we will see each other at some point. Goodnight, Ignis.” You shut the car door and made your way into the building. He waited until you were safely inside and getting on the elevator before driving off. You sigh as the doors close and press the button for your floor.

                    _________________

Your days come and go without much affair. You felt you had really found your niche in your job position and was happy that your life seemed to be going in the right direction. You run into Ignis with the same coincidental regularity, but at least greeting each other came with more ease now. Even though you feel you let his intentions get a bit skewed in your mind, the “date” at the coffee shop, as you liked to think of it, made saying hello and asking how each other’s day was going a little less awkward than before.

For a few days, though, you barely saw him more than once or twice, and even then, he seemed in a perpetual state of hurry. You finally happened upon him in the Citadel’s cafeteria, absentmindedly picking at a pathetic looking vending machine sandwich, while flipping through some paperwork. You stop beside him at his table and raise an eyebrow at his lunch.

“That sure beats the coffee shop’s panini!” you joked.

Ignis seemed almost surprised at your sudden presence at his side. “Oh, yes. It is absolutely delicious!” Sarcasm was dripping from his tongue. “I’m afraid I’ve been so terribly busy this week, I haven’t had time to prepare any meals at home or go out on my breaks to get real food. I’m afraid one more day and I might actually have myself talked into liking these things.” He scowled comically at the sandwich.

The coworker you were meeting for lunch waved at you from another table. She was beaming from ear to ear when she saw you talking to Ignis. “Well, I better let you get back to it. I told Miss Rainbows and Sunshine over there I’d meet her for lunch. Have a good afternoon!”

“And you as well, y/n,” he said.

“Hey, Hallie!” You greeted your friend as you sat down facing away from Ignis. Halcyon and you had become quick friends after she started working at the tour desk at the Citadel. She was always in a good mood and never failed to cheer you up or make you laugh when you needed it.

“Since when have you been talking to _him_?!” she exclaimed.

“What is that supposed to mean? And quit looking at him while you’re talking!” You squeaked. “He gave me a ride home when my car broke down. It’s nothing.”

“Just like him staring at you the whole time you walked over here is nothing, huh?” Hallie smirked.

“What, really?” Your cheeks felt like they where starting to catch fire.

“Oh boy, I think you got him so hot and bothered that he has to leave,” Hallie laughed.

A moment later, Ignis walked past your table on his way out, giving you a smile and a nod as he did so. You nodded and blushed back at him.

“Man, you have it bad, y/n,” Hallie dug at you.

You sighed, resigning to the truth. “I guess I do, don’t I?” You laughed and turned your attention to the food she had picked up from a Tenebraen restaurant for the two of you.

                    _________________

You decided to go out to a local kebab shop for lunch the next day, when a novel idea hit you. Since you were able to go on lunch an hour early today, you should have time to bring Ignis lunch back before he bought another one of those Six awful vending sandwiches again. It would make you feel better about him buying you dinner the other night, anyhow. You summoned up the courage and bought an extra meal for him.

Walking back to the Citadel with your food you passed a small book shop and a cookbook in the window caught your eye. “Undercover Veggies: Recipes for Deception”. Hmmm. You’d have to remember to tell Ignis about this. He seemed pretty adamant about getting the prince to eat more vegetables. Maybe sneaking them in his meals would help. The bold thought crossed your mind that instead of telling Ignis about the book, you could just buy it for him. Glancing at your watch, you found you still had plenty of time to run in and make the purchase.

With an extra bag now in your possession and a confidence in your step you started back to the Citadel again. Unfortunately, that confidence lasted all of about five minutes.

As you made your way up to the floor where you knew his office was, your nerves slowly started to get the best of you after all. You had never been to his office before. What if he thought you were creepy for getting him lunch _and_ a cookbook. _And_ bringing them up to his office. Maybe this was a bad idea after all. You felt like you had stalker written on your forehead in black marker. You could always hold onto the cookbook for yourself. You needed more vitamins in your diet anyhow, right?

The elevator doors opened and before you could change your mind you hastily stepped out, only to run into a human wall. Looking up, you realized that this human wall was none other than the object of your mad crush in the flesh. He backed out of the elevator with you.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” you managed. One look in his flustered eyes and the remaining shreds of your earlier confidence completely flew out the window.

“No worries, I was the one not paying attention before I stepped in. I did not expect someone to be getting off on this floor.” He looked down at the bags in your hand quizzically.

Well, no turning back now, y/n, you told yourself. “Um, I had an early lunch, so I thought I’d bring you something back. I couldn’t stand the idea of you eating those ghastly sandwiches any more,” You stammered out. “Plus, I owe you one from the other night.”

He smiled, but scratched the back of his head.

Ugh, you had gone and done it - not only were you starting to feel awkward, but you spread the disease to him too. “Thank you, it was kind of you to think of me. Shall we eat in my office or would you prefer the cafeteria?”

You would kill to see his office. You actually had quite the fantasy the other night of him taking you over what you imagined his desk to look like. “Since we’re already here, would your office be ok?” Might as well, you thought. You were probably going to die from embarrassment, anxiety, or a combination of the two anyhow. At least you’d die knowing what his office looked like first.

“Certainly,” he quipped, seeming pleased, and started back down the hall with you following.

At the end of a short hallway was a door with his name on it in gold lettering. The frosted window panels on either side showed a dark office.

“Just a moment while I get the lights back on,” he said as he unlocked the door. Crossing over to his desk he flipped the light switch and took his jacket off, hanging it on the back of his chair.

His office was small, simple and neat, exactly how you imagined it to be. There were a few bookshelves and file cabinets along the walls and a fine mahogany desk in the center. A leather sofa rested against one wall. Is that where he slept when he pulled all nighters, you wondered?

“Ah, here - let me pull a chair over for you,” he said moving one of the two chairs that sat at the front of his desk over to the side closer to him. Closer to the desk that did indeed look a lot like the one in your fantasy, you thought. Your heart was pounding so fast at this point, it felt as if it was going to burst.

You thanked him for the chair and started pulling the containers out of the bags and offered one to him. A realization hit you. “Ugh, I didn’t think about drinks!”

“No worries, if you don’t mind a can of Ebony, we’ll be just fine.” You nodded and he produced two from a small refrigerator beside one of the filing cabinets.

You saw him looking at the bag that remained on the floor beside you that contained the cookbook. You had almost forgot about it at this point.

He noticed the shop name. “Lucian Booksellers - I take it you are a book reader?”

“Um, yes. I am quite an avid one,” you stumbled trying to decide what to do. Oh, hell. What could go wrong at this point? You couldn’t possibly get any more nervous than you were now, right? You already bought him lunch and are eating it at his desk in his office alone with him. You decided to go for it. “I actually bought this one for you.”

“For me?” He seemed genuinely caught off guard by this.

“Yeah, I was walking back here from getting lunch and saw it in the store window. I couldn’t help but think of you so I got it. I hope you don’t think it’s weird that I did.” You were blushing furiously now as you pulled the book from the bag. You held it out for him and he contemplated the cover. You couldn’t read the expression on his face and your already pounding heart was just about ready to seize. You were wrong, you thought. You could get more anxious than you already were. His hand brushed yours when he took it from you and the little sparks you felt were nearly enough to stop your heart then and there. This is it, you thought. You could see it now. He was going to have to call the medic to his office because you were about five seconds away from going into cardiac arrest.

“Thank you so much,” he said quietly and genuinely, interrupting the thoughts of your own impending death. “This is probably one of the most thoughtful gifts I have received in quite a while. It means a lot when someone listens to what matters to you.” He looked up at you with an almost childish grin and quickly turned back to the book to flip through it excitedly.

You could feel your whole body relax as you let out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding. “I’m so glad you like it!” You laughed a bit as you said it, thinking to yourself how absolutely ridiculous you had been to get yourself that worked up. You really were not your normal confident self around him and it was turning your whole being inside out.

Your hands were trembling from the adrenaline rush as you picked up one of the kebabs to start occupying yourself with eating. Ignis nibbled at his as he continued to flip through the book marveling at the ideas he never thought of himself.

As your time for lunch was ending Ignis walked you back to the elevator. “Thank you so much again for lunch and the book. I cannot wait to try some of the ideas. I feel I am truly doomed if Noctis can tell there are vegetables in a dish using some of those techniques.”

“Well, if he does find out, I am denying ever having a role in this conspiracy!” you said reaching for the call button the same time he did. His fingers lingered for a slight second on top of yours before he pulled them back. Your breath caught in your throat.

A moment later the elevator doors opened and you stepped inside. Turning to face him you noticed a slight blush on his face. That was new. You thought him too self-assured to blush. It made you feel slightly better at your own deficiency in the confidence department today.

“I’ll talk to you later,” he said smiling at you as the doors closed.

“Yes, I’d like that,” you said. “Have a good afternoon Ignis.”

You closed you eyes and leaned back against the wall. You were almost giddy with the warmth running through your chest.


	4. The Gift Part 2

Ignis pulled into a parking spot at the coffee shop and killed the engine. Damn this rain, he thought. You had your hand on the door, hesitating to get out.

“Wait there for just a moment,” he said. It wasn’t that far to make a dash into the building, but it wouldn’t be proper to let you get wet when he had an umbrella on hand. He walked over to your side and opened the door for you. He couldn’t help but enjoy the added benefit of being closer to you to share the umbrella.

Walking into the shop, he heard your stomach growl loudly. The smells enticed a bit of hunger in him too.

“Sounds like you are quite famished,” he said motioning to your belly. “I find that I am a bit peckish as well, do you have the time to get a bite to eat while we are here?”

You nodded eagerly to him. “I’ve been wanting to try the grilled garula salad that they have here anyhow!”

As you two stepped up to order, Ignis noticed that the barista was a little too over eager to take his order and swoon at him. Even with another woman in my company, they still have to gawk. Paying no further mind to her, he ordered himself a chickatrice panini and a hot Ebony.

She turned to you to ask what you would like, smile noticeably fading. Ignis glanced at you and saw the icy stare you had directed back at the poor girl. Ignis thought he was starting to understand women, but and then they went and did these strange unsaid things to each other. Were you looking a bit jealous right now, he thought, or is this my imagination?

“Y/n, order whatever you would like, it is on me,” he said to stop you from sizing each other up.

You started to refuse his offer to pay, so he cut you off before you could go any further. He remembered you had said you wanted to try that salad.

“She’ll have the grilled garula salad, please.” As an afterthought, he hoped you didn’t think him too presumptuous for ordering for you. “Would you like something to drink as well?” he added. 

“A hot Ebony sounds good to me too. Cream and sugar, please.” He was a bit relieved when you turned and smiled at him. “Thank you, Ignis. That really wasn’t necessary, though.”

“Of course it was. I was the one who asked to stop here. If you would like to grab a table for us, I’ll bring the food when it is ready.” He couldn’t stop himself from watching walk to the back of the dining area.

The barista tried to make some small talk with him as she made your drinks and the food was being prepared. Thankfully they weren’t busy and the order came out quickly. He was not one for idle conversation with strangers and it was starting to make him feel awkward.

Finally, he joined you at the table, noting you had sat just out of sight of the barista and also so he had to sit with his back to them. Surely this had to be done on purpose. Quite the tactician, he thought to himself.

He divided out the food between you two and started to unwrap his sandwich. You were already hungrily digging into your salad. You let out a sound that was a bit too much like a moan for his own good, the noise going straight to his groin.

He couldn’t help but give you a wry smile over top of the panini in front of his lips. “I take it the salad lived up to your expectations?”

“Absolutely!” you said a bit ungracefully with your mouth full. He wondered how you could make that social blunder look so cute.

As you two silently ate your food, he noticed that you kept stealing glances at him. Your eyes would go from his face down to his collarbones. He remembered he had the top button of his shirt undone. It made his pulse quicken a bit. Maybe he would have to wear his shirts like that more often, he thought. Not used to be a particularly nervous person, he thought of something to say to break the silence.

“I wish I could get the prince to eat his vegetables as eagerly as you do,” he said.  
You laughed a bit. “And why would you be so worried about his vegetable intake?”

I suppose she wouldn’t realize just how incorporated I am into Noct’s life, he thought.

“Left on his own, I think he could survive solely on Cup Noodles and potato chips,” He added. “Someone has to instill good eating habits in him.”

“I didn’t realize that was in your job description,” you said confirming his thoughts.

“There are many things that you would not think to be my duty, but, well, that is my life.” And precisely why he often felt that ever having a romantic relationship with someone would never work out. Surely you wouldn’t want to be with someone who couldn’t promise they could be there for you at all times.

He studied your face and hands as you ate. He let his thoughts drift to imagining being intimate with you, holding your face in his hands as he kissed you deeply. He tried to imagine what it would be like to have the two of you going through life by each other’s sides, happy and unburdened, growing old together. He sighed, pulling back from these thoughts. Dreams that they might be, it wasn’t really something impossible, he thought. Maybe I just need to rethink what I can and cannot have. Gladiolus’s father, Clarus, is King Regis’s shield and he obviously raised a family with two children. Even the king had a wife at one time and now has Noct. They both had women who loved them despite their duties. Perhaps I am being too harsh on myself for believing I cannot spare the time for a relationship and an eventual family.

“Enough about me, tell me a bit about yourself,” he finally said to change the subject in his mind.

You swallowed your last bite and sat with your mouth open looking like you were trying to think of the answer to a complex calculus question. You were even more beautiful when you were flustered, he thought to himself.

Finally you answered him with a question. “Well, what would you like to know?”

Well played, he thought. Putting the ball back in my court when you didn’t know how to answer me. He took a sip of coffee while thinking of something simple to put you at ease, although he was quite enjoying your current state of nervousness.

“Hmmm. You seem a bit young to be in your job position at the Citadel and you also seem to be quite well versed in history. Are you currently in college?”  
“Yes, well, I actually just graduated with a history major this past spring. I am 19, by the way. I was able to graduate high school early. Everything just always came easy to me. I suppose it is both a blessing and a curse at times,” you answered.

“Indeed, I can relate to that,” Ignis said. All too well, he thought. Ever since the king had introduced him to Noctis at the tender age of six and instilled the notion of duty and brotherhood into him, he made it his life to consistently try to be better, stronger. He felt that there were always eyes on him, watching for him to slip up and disappoint them.

“In my 20 years, I have always been ahead for my age. I feel honored that I am entrusted to do the duties I have been given, but it is quite easy to be overwhelmed by taking on more than your share just because others know you are capable of it,” he added.

“Exactly!” you agreed.

He already knew from his research that you were 19, not quite a full year younger than him. He also knew that you had already progressed through college. Hearing come from you, though, just put a new prospective on it. You seemed proud of your achievements, yet somehow sad. Perhaps not having a full childhood to enjoy does that to people.

Ignis glanced at the time on his phone. “It is getting a bit late, perhaps we should be going?”

“Yes, we probably should,” you said. “At least it looks like the rain is finally letting up.”

He asked for your address when you got to the car, secretly tucking it into his thoughts for a hopeful time in the future. The two of you rode through the streets in a peaceful silence. Ignis stole a few glances at your profile as you watched the city go by through the passenger window. Arriving at your apartment building he pulled over and put the car in park.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to exchange phone numbers with you,” he said.

You looked at him like he just asked you to sacrifice your life to the Astrals.

To unfreeze you from your state he quickly added, “In case you have trouble getting your car towed, or if you would need another ride to work.”

“Oh, of course,” you responded. Your look changed from fear to disappointment . I really cannot figure women out, he thought to himself. But then again, if she was really disappointed in the reason I just gave her to get her number, then maybe I do stand a chance, he thought.

“Thanks again for the ride and dinner,” you said opening the door.

“It was my pleasure,” Ignis smiled. “Do have a good evening. I will see you at work tomorrow, yes?”

“Yes, I do work tomorrow. I’m sure we will see each other at some point. Goodnight, Ignis.” He treasured the idea of it. Seeing you at work had been the highlight of his days these past few weeks, and would be even more so now. He waited until you were in the building and getting in the elevator before he drove off, taking advantage of your presence for as long as he could.

                    _________________

The next few weeks passed by fairly uneventfully. Ignis was kept occupied by his Crownsguard duties and training, as well as his routine with Noctis. The prince had been particularly difficult over the last few years as he came into his prime teen years. It was actually somewhat comforting to Ignis to see him experience the same sulking and rebellious streak others his age went through, to see him experience part of a normal life. Ignis felt more like a parent to him during this time and not like the friend and surrogate brother he preferred to be. He held on to the fact that this was just a part of life that Noct would surely grow out of in a few years.

Over the last few days, however, Ignis’s responsibilities piled up more than usual, almost to the point of exhaustion. Between meetings and trying to keep Noct’s disaster of an apartment somewhat respectable in appearance, he barely had time to brush his teeth and go straight to bed at night. Regretfully, this left him with no time for leisure and he had taken to eating lunch quickly in the cafeteria before heading straight back to work. He was really starting to miss seeing you and yearned to hear your voice greeting him in passing in the halls.

He didn’t think you ever came to the cafeteria for lunch, so he was caught a bit off guard when he felt a presence hovering beside him. He was playing with the poor excuse for a sandwich the vending machine had dispensed him while leafing through his notes from this morning’s meeting. He was almost embarrassed to be eating such a thing when he knew he was capable of cooking meals almost on par with a gourmet restaurant.  
He looked up into your eyes to find them unsurprisingly judging his lunch.

“That sure beats the coffee shop’s panini!” you joked.

“Oh, yes. It is absolutely delicious.” He poured as much sarcasm into his voice as he could. It wouldn’t do to have you think he eats like this on a daily basis. “I’m afraid I’ve been so terribly busy this week, I haven’t had time to prepare any meals at home or to go out on my breaks to get real food. I’m afraid one more day and I might actually have myself talked into liking these things,” he gestured at the sandwich like it was about to grow legs and start walking across the table.

An eager wave from an over enthusiastic woman on the other side of the room grabbed both of your attention. “Well, I better let you get back to it. I told Miss Rainbows and Sunshine over there I’d meet her for lunch. Have a good afternoon!”

He nodded. “And you as well, y/n.”

He watched intently as you walked over to the other table, admiring the green blouse and form fitting black skirt you had on. Your hips swayed just enough to be hypnotizing. Hips that he had fantasized about doing more than just swaying on top of him. He watched as you greeted the other woman, who proceeded to talk excitedly to you, peering over at him occasionally. They have to be talking about me, he thought. I wish I could hear what y/n is saying.

His rational side made him realize that he was not going to get any work done with you here to distract so he decided to gather his things and head back up to his office. As he walked past your table he noticed the blush on your cheeks as he nodded and smiled at you. Yes, they were definitely talking about me, he thought, walking out of he room with a satisfied smile on his face.

                   _________________

The next day finally brought with it a schedule free of meetings. Ignis sighed and stretched back in the chair at his desk that was, for first time in days, not drowning in paperwork. Having no meetings meant he could get caught up on his evaluations of the new Crownsguard recruits. If I drop these off to Cor now, he thought, I might actually have time to run out and get a decent lunch today.

A knock at his open door had him looking up at the hulking beast named Gladiolus Amicitia. His newly finished tattoo that had been weeks in the making shined across his biceps and shoulders. Only Gladio could get away with walking around the Citadel in a black tank top and not a dress shirt, Ignis thought. He supposed one could get away with things like that that when they were the heir-apparent’s shield and from the Amicitia bloodline.

“Hey Iggy, thought I’d stop and see if you needed anything. You’ve been awfully distracted lately,” Gladio said.

Ignis had definitely been off his game while sparring with Gladio last week. The large fading bruise on his left side was proof of it. He had let his mind wander for just a moment, imagining that you were watching him train, your eyes lustfully wandering over his body. Unfortunately it was Gladio’s wooden broadsword that wandered over his body instead. “It’s nothing,” he finally responded. “I’ve just been a bit distracted by my duties as of late.”

“Ok, if you say so...” Gladio raised his eyebrow. “Just not like you is all. If you’d ask me, I’d say I smell a woman involved.”

Of course he would, Ignis thought. He could smell a woman a mile away. They practically fell swooning into his lap on a regular basis.

“I assure you it is nothing. If you could do me a favor, though, I would greatly appreciate it. Could you drop these off to Cor when you go back to the training halls? It would give me time to actually eat a real lunch this week,” Ignis said, changing the subject.

“Yeah, no prob.” Gladio took the envelope from Ignis’s hand and turned to leave. “And if you see Noct tonight, tell him to get his scrawny ass to training. He ain’t gonna get stronger if he sleeps his free time away.”

“Certainly,” Ignis replied with an exasperated sigh. “Tell Cor to call me if he has any questions on my reports.”

Gladio nodded and headed back down the hall.  
Ignis tidied the remaining papers on his desk and put on his jacket to head out. Locking his door behind him, he realized just how quiet his floor was for a change. Everyone else apparently had already gone out for lunch, or had the day off, and Gladio was already well on his way to deliver Ignis’s envelope to Cor. He hit the button to call the elevator and skimmed through the messages on his phone waiting for it to arrive.

The elevator doors opened and Ignis started forward through them, still distracted by his phone. Before he had time to react, a body came crashing head first into him. He backed out of the elevator taken completely by surprise. He wasn’t expecting anyone to be getting off on this floor, let alone you.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” You looked as surprised as he was.

“No worries, I was the one not paying attention before I stepped in. I did not expect someone to be getting off on this floor.” He then noticed the bags in your hands. The only reason for you to be here with them in your hands had to be to see him, he thought.

“Um, I had an early lunch, so I thought I’d bring you something back. I couldn’t stand the idea of you eating those ghastly sandwiches any more.” There was that beautiful blush on her cheeks again, he thought. “Plus, I owe you one from the other night,” you added.

Still caught completely off guard, he scratched his head thinking what to do next. Your very presence always seemed to disarm him of his senses. It was an effect no one else had ever had on him.

“Thank you, It was kind of you to think of me. Shall we eat in my office or would you prefer the cafeteria?” He hoped you would pick his office.

“Since we’re already here would your office be ok?” you asked.

“Certainly,” he said. The Astrals were really on his side today.

He led you back down the hall to his doorway and pulled his key out to unlock the door.

“Just a moment while I get the lights back on,” he said. Flipping the switch, he took his jacket back off and hung it on the back of his chair. He watched you look around the room for a moment, taking in all the details.

“Ah, here - let me pull a chair over for you.” He moved one of the chairs at the front of his desk around to the side and patted the seat. As the two of you settled down, he realized he was close enough to smell your light perfume and it was enough to start his heart racing a bit.

You started to pull the food containers out of the bags, but exclaimed “Ugh, I didn’t think about drinks!”

“No worries, if you don’t mind a can of Ebony, we’ll be just fine.” You nodded in agreement and he grabbed two from the small refrigerator he kept in his office just for this precious commodity. He couldn’t fathom making it through a day without coffee coursing through his veins.

He noticed there was still a bag left on the floor beside you and saw it was from the bookstore down the street.

“Lucian Booksellers - I take it you are a reader?” He inquired.

“Um, yes. I am quite an avid one,” you almost stuttered, picking at your shirt hem breaking eye contact with him. He wondered how such an innocent question could make you so suddenly nervous. “I actually bought this one for you,” you added quietly.

“For me?” What kind of book could she possibly have bought for me? There hasn’t been enough conversation between the two of us for her to know me that well, Ignis thought. Still, he warmed at the fact that you had thought of him and bought him something.

“Yeah, I was walking back here from getting lunch and saw it in the store window. I couldn’t help but think of you so I got it. I hope you don’t think it’s weird that I did.” Your face was furiously red at this point. You pulled the book out and held it out for him.

He read the title - “Undercover Veggies: Recipes for Deception”. Oh, he thought to himself. Of course! The discussion we had about Noct and his despise of vegetables. He was thrilled that you had remembered that small fact and that you had thought of him when you saw this. He reached out to take the book from you, his hand accidentally brushing yours in the process. The electricity from the brief contact stirred him from his thoughts.

“Thank you so much,” he said quietly, looking up to you. “This is probably one of the most thoughtful gifts I have received in quite a while. It means a lot when someone listens to what matters to you.” He opened the book to start flipping through it and looked back up to you with a grin on his face.

You looked like a heavy weight had been lifted off of you as you sat back in your chair. “I’m so glad you like it!”

Ignis noticed the slight tremble in your hands as you started to eat your lunch. Why had she been so anxious to give this to me? Was she afraid I wouldn’t like it? If she was that afraid of rejection, could it be she has the same feelings about me as I do her? He had been trained to be able to read people and their intentions, but you were an enigma to him. His thoughts of you were turning his world upside down.

You both finished up your meal as Ignis continued to flip through the cookbook, pausing now and then to marvel at the ideas inside. “Thank you so much again for lunch and the book. I cannot wait to try some of the ideas. I feel I am truly doomed if Noctis can tell there are vegetables in a dish using some of those techniques.”

“Well, if he does find out, I am denying ever having a role in this conspiracy!” you said back jokingly.

All too soon, you announced that you should be getting back to work. Ignis walked you down to the elevator. He went to reach for the call button just a moment after you did, causing his hand to rest on top of yours. Wanting to feel the brief excitement the last brush of your hands gave him again, he let his fingers linger just a moment longer before pulling them back. He could hear the slight hitch in your breathing as he did so.

The elevator doors opened and you stepped inside, turning to make eye contact with him. He could feel the unfamiliar warmth of a blush spreading across his cheeks as he looked back at you.

“I’ll talk to you later,” he smiled softly at you.

“Yes, I’d like that,” you said as the doors started to close. “Have a good afternoon Ignis.”

He stood there for a moment after the doors closed to breath in the scent of your perfume that still surrounded him. He started back down the hall to his office a warm feeling swelling in his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All I have to say is that Episode Ignis thoroughly wrecked me. All the feels, not to mention that hair. Mmmm, that sexy delicious hair...


	5. The Confession Part 1

A lot of people have one or two things that may come as a surprise to those who don’t know them well. Yours was a love of comic books. It never failed to amuse you when others seemed shocked when they found out that fact about you. Perhaps it was your mature demeanor that threw them off, but you could care less. It was something you loved and that’s all that mattered to you.

You learned to read at the early age of four and were eager to get your little hands on every book you could. Of course, your father’s extensive comic book collection with all of its colorfully illustrated pages drew your young attention immediately. As you grew, you not only learned to love the tales of classic literature from the library, but also the heroic comic book tales the likes of “The Knights of the Round” and “The Guardians of Titan”. You could argue any hardcore fan under the table as to which team of heroes was superior and which writer and illustrator produced the best works.

Today the new issue of The Astrals Above was due out, so stopping by the comic shop on your way home from work was priority one. The last issue ended in a cliffhanger with the warriors of Bahamut on the cusp of making their attack on Ifrit.

The bell jingled at the top of the door as you entered the small shop tucked amongst the other stores on this quiet back street. Cassius, the owner, greeted you from the counter.

“Hey, y/n! Figured you’d be in today. I saved you one of the alternate covers of Astrals that came in my shipment.”

“You’re the best Cassius!” you exclaimed. It paid to be a regular. Cassius was always holding onto little treasures like that for you. “I’m gonna check out a few other things and I’ll be up to pay.”

You made your way around the store, checking out some of the newer merchandise he had acquired. There was a ton of chocobo and moogle items he must have picked up at the recent festival in Altissia. How you wished you could afford to travel outside of Lucis and experience such things!

As you made your way towards the new releases on a rack in the back, you realized you weren’t the only one perusing the store.

“We should probably get going, Prom. He’s gonna be coming to pick us up anytime now. I can’t wait to have his seafood paella!” The raven haired one was speaking to a blonde with adorable freckles on his cheeks. Both seemed to be a bit younger than you.

Suddenly, the blonde made for the rack in front of you. He didn’t even seem to notice you standing there. “OMG - check it out! The new King’s Knight issue is out!” His dark haired friend gave you a shrug and an apologetic look. You contemplated how familiar he looked, but couldn’t quite place him.

The blonde reached in front of you to grab a copy and started to flip through it. You weren’t exactly a fan of the comic translation, but the game itself was ridiculously addictive.

“Do you play?” You decided to make small talk with him since he didn’t seem to be moving out of your way anytime soon.

“H-huh? O-oh, yeah! Best. Game. Ever!” He said, startled by your presence even though you were practically standing on top of him. Recovering quickly, he added “Do you?!”

He looked like a three year old who had just been fed too much sugar. You were fairly sure when you admitted you did play he was going to drop to his knees and worship you like you were some kind of goddess. “I do. Have you heard about the event coming out tomorrow? It’s gonna be awesome!”

You continued your conversation with the blonde for a few minutes. You expressed your disinterest in the King’s Knight comic, while he tried to sell it to you with a passion that you doubted even the creator himself had for it. You then started to compare other comics you were into. You tried to convince him to give The Astrals Above a chance, but he thought it was too feminine.

The dark haired one, mostly silent so far, snorted at the last comment from his friend. “Since when are you worried about being feminine?”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?!” the blonde said blushing, making his freckles more prominent. “Just cause I’m short doesn’t make me any less of a man!” He playfully punched his friend’s shoulder. Their banter and interactions were endearing to watch.

“We should trade phone numbers with you for King’s Knight,” the dark haired one said to you. “Whenever we have a open spot in our party you can join up with us.”

“Hmmm. Ok, I guess,” you answered. You had only intended to have a friendly conversation, not get them phishing for your phone number. Oh, well, you thought. You guessed it would be nice to have some more people to play with. “What’s your name so I can get you in my phone?” you asked.

The dark haired one shot a look for help to his friend, which you found a little unusual. In the background, you heard the small bell on the door tinkle in announcement to another customer.

A moment later a familiar voice called out. “There you two are. I have groceries in the car that need to be properly refrigerated sooner than later...”

The voice trailed off as you turned to face it. Shock and disbelief raced through your mind. Ignis?! If that’s him, then the dark haired boy must be... Oh for the love of the Six, you realized why he looked so familiar. He was the prince. _And_ he just asked you for your phone number so he could play King’s Knight with you.

The four of you stood staring at one another for what felt like an eternity, but in reality was just a few seconds. You couldn’t decide if you wanted to turn into a puddle and slither away under the rack of books or go back to your apartment, pack your bags, and leave Insomnia to hide away in the hills of Cleigne, living life as a hermit for the remainder of your days.

“Good day, y/n,” Ignis finally broke the silence.

A weak, “Hey,” was all you could manage in return.

“I knew you liked to read, but I didn’t realize that extended to comics as well,” he added.

“And she plays King’s Knight too!” a still overly excited blonde chimed in before you could answer, oblivious to the current situation unfolding before him.

You were still frozen in place. Did they suddenly turn the heat up in here, you thought? Your winter jacket that had been cozy a moment ago had now become oppressive. You could feel the sweat running down the back of your shirt underneath.

“You know each other?” the prince directed at you. He now had a smirk on his face as he glanced over to Ignis. All you could do was look down at your feet at this point.

Ignis must have sensed your panic and said, “Y/n is part of the tour and guest department at the Citadel. We’ve had the occasion to enjoy each other’s company a few times.”

You were finally able to bring your eyes back up to the dark haired boy.

“I-I-I d-didn’t realize who you were. Your highness? Um, wow, I’m sorry. I...” you stuttered.

“Hey, no worries. And none of that, your highness stuff. If you’re friends with Iggy, then it’s just Noct to you.” He smiled and that helped eased you a bit. “And blondie over there is Prompto.”

Prompto gave you a cheesy grin.

“Anyhow, since we all know each other’s names now, let’s swap numbers before Iggy has a heart attack over his food thawing in the car,” Noct added.

Ignis rolled his eyes at him and started to pick at his gloves while waiting for the three of you to finish exchanging numbers. Noct was looking at him again and you felt there was some sort of unspoken conversation between the two, ending with that smirk back on Noct’s face.

“We’ll hit you up when we can,” Prompto told you as you made your way back to the front of the store.

“Thanks!” you said. You gave the guys a small wave as they went out of the shop. Ignis hesitated, but then nodded and smiled back at you as he left the store.

You walked to the counter to pay for your comic, legs shaking so bad you thought they were about to give out on you.

                    _________________

You got back to your apartment and threw a frozen pizza in the oven. You remembered overhearing Noct mentioning the seafood paella that Ignis must be making for them tonight. You were slightly jealous at the fact that the prince and his friend had him as their personal chef.

You thought back to the events that had just transpired and were still in a state of denial. You knew if your crazy notion of being with Ignis ever came to it’s imagined fruition things like that were bound happen. Did someone like you even deserve this opportunity? You sighed, over the last few months your crush had not abated and in fact had turned into more of a yearning for him. The fact that he seemed to be glad for your friendship only served to strengthen those feelings.

Ever since the day you picked up lunch for Ignis on a whim, the two of you would meet up on occasion for lunch. You would discuss a new books you were reading or new music artists you were into. He even listened intently as you braved to talk about the daily adventures of your two cats, Kupo and Kweh.

You also found out that he had made excellent use of the cook book you bought him. He had sent you a picture of a few of his creations, along with Noct’s empty plate after, with the message “Operation veggie ninja is a success!” He had an endearing way of acting a bit younger through his texts than he did in person. They always seemed to have a playful tone to them that he was hesitant to express face to face.

As if he read your mind, your phone buzzed with a message.

 **Ignis:** Sorry. I’m sure that was quite awkward for you earlier  
: -/

 **Y/n:** It’s all good. Near death experiences just add to your character, right?

 **Ignis:** Lol. Perhaps so.

 **Ignis:** The children are getting restless. I must feed them before they revolt and and overthrow the kingdom.

 **Y/n:** May the Six lend you their strength then x-D

 **Y/n:** ttyl

 **Ignis:** I look forward to it. :-)

You ate your pizza as you read the new issue of your comic. You were surprised when your phone buzz again. You half expected it to be Hallie out on a date sending you a selfie with her beau of the week. You didn’t expect It to be Ignis again.

 **Ignis:** I wanted to ask you if you would like to accompany me to the park tomorrow morning? We could go for a walk and get some coffee.

What is this about? Lunch at work was one thing, but outside of work? Your brain was still swimming from everything that went down earlier today and, quite frankly, you just couldn’t process this development now.

 **Y/n:** I thought you had to work tomorrow, though?

 **Ignis:** The prince said I could have the day off, so it is not a problem.

 **Y/n:** I didn’t realize he dictated your schedule. Lol.

 **Ignis:** Tomorrow at 9am then? By the main fountain.

 **Y/n:** Sure. See you then.

He didn’t respond again after that. That whole conversation just seemed a bit off. Maybe he was distracted by “the kids” as he put it earlier.

You sighed. Your brain had had all it could handle today. You decided you would just have to sort this mystery out tomorrow and see what happened.

                    _________________

You woke up the next day to a cold December morning and rolled yourself to the other side of the bed, wrapping yourself in your warm blankets as you went.

So warm, you sleepily thought. Gonna just stay here like this for a while...then you remembered the final text from Ignis last night and shot up into the cold air of your bedroom. Your clock read 8:30, Six, didn’t he say to meet him at 9? At least the park was close enough you could walk to it fairly quickly.

You hurriedly put on a warm sweater and a pair of jeans. Your hair was just going to have to be pinned up today. It was too much of a bedhead mess to even try to salvage at this point. You put on a jacket along with a scarf you had crocheted for yourself and a warm pair of gloves.

You made it to the meeting place with a few minutes to spare and had a seat on a bench to wait for him. For the morning being so cold, there was actually quite a few people out. You watched as a little boy chased some birds around while his parents followed behind watching him lovingly and you smiled at the sight of an old couple walking by hand in hand.

The sound of approaching feet drew your attention and you turned to see who it was. Ignis looked more handsome than usual today. He had a longer dress coat over his usual attire with a black scarf loosely around his neck. The cold had bitten his cheeks a nice rosy pink.

You smiled at him from where you sat and waved. He froze, looking completely dumbfounded to see you sitting there.

Your heart sank to your feet. He asked me to meet him here, you thought, why is he acting like that? Oh, yesterday. That’s what this is about. You were sure that he brought you here to tell you he couldn’t have anything to do with you anymore. Now that you met the prince, not to mention how you met him, was surely enough to put an end to anything between you two. They probably joked about how you were just another girl infatuated with the glamour of royalty. That would explain the unusual text you got from him inviting you here.

Ignis sighed and walked over to sit beside you on the bench.

“My apologies,” he said looking straight ahead, hands clasped on his knees.

Even though you were resigning yourself to the inevitable, you still had to bite back tears.

You stared straight ahead as well. “It’s ok, I know why you asked me here. I don’t blame you. This whole notion I’ve had in my head has just been foolish.”

From the side of your vision you saw him snap his head over to you. You still couldn’t look him in the face. You knew you’d start to cry for sure.

He chuckled loudly. “My intentions were to meet Noct and Prompto here this morning to go ice skating.”

You looked up at him in confusion.

“I think we have been set up, y/n.”

Wait, what? Now your head was just spinning. Set up? By who? “But you sent me a text asking me to meet you here.”

He pulled out his phone and opened up his messages.

“Indeed I did,” he said laughing. “It all makes sense now. I had to run back to the store yesterday evening to get an ingredient I forgot and I inadvertently left my phone on Noct’s kitchen counter. I wondered why the two of them were giggling like school girls at me the rest of the night. They must have gone through my phone, saw my texts to you, and decided to have a little fun with us. Then, before I left last night Noct asked me to meet them here to go ice skating this morning.”

You let his words mull around in your head a bit and slowly started to realize what he was saying. “So you didn’t mean to meet me here at all then?” Even though you were relieved that he hadn’t asked you here with the intention of voicing his rejection of you, your words still carried a hint of disappointment.

“I did not. But it is quite the opportunity, I think,” he said.

You looked at him curiously, not quite sure what to make of what he just said.

He sighed and looked straight ahead again. “I am not one for ambiguity, but I am afraid I have been just that with you.”

So he is shutting me down after all, you thought. This roller coaster ride was really off the tracks today. You could feel the tears starting to sting at the corners of your eyes again. Damn it, you were never this emotional. Well, at least we can get this over with now and I can move on, you thought.

“I really like you, a lot...” his voice seemed to tremble a bit as he spoke. “You have had me so distracted lately, that everyone is starting to notice. Every time I have wanted to confess that to you, I was so afraid that you would reject me that I just couldn’t find the words to tell you.”

You both looked up at each other, studying each other’s eyes and breath on the cold air, searching for some type of reaction. You were taken aback by him saying the opposite of what your mind had decided he was going to tell you.

“What ever made you think I would reject you? I-I like you a lot too. But it’s just a silly crush. I could never hold a candle to you. And I’m just common born. If I wasn’t so intelligent, I wouldn’t even be employed anywhere near the Citadel...” you trailed off as he interrupted you.

“So you do have feelings for me then?” It was as if that was the only part of what you said registered with him.

“I do, but like I said, I’m don’t know what you could ever want with someone like me.” You finally said what had been gnawing at you the past few months.

Ignis turned to face you and took one of your gloved hands into his. “You are intelligent, kind, creative, and not to mention downright beautiful,” he said. You couldn’t tell if the redness in his cheeks was still from the cold air or a blush. “Quite frankly, I could care less if you were conceived and born in a caravan in the parking lot of Hammerhead.” He went on, “I thought you wouldn’t want anything to do with me because of my position, my duties. My inability to devote myself wholly to a relationship because of them.”

“Ignis,” you started.

“I want to make this work,” he interrupted you again, intent on getting his thoughts out. “I am willing to make this work. I have been thinking about this over and over lately. I really want to be with you as more than just a friend.”

It shocked you to hear him admit to his lack of confidence. His thoughts had been mirroring yours all along.

“I do too,” you finally said. Your heart was fluttering and you had to consciously remind yourself to breathe. Were you still in bed under your warm blankets, dreaming? You had to have been, you thought. Otherwise this means the two of you had just agreed to start dating.

“Well, I think that settles it then,” he said, drawing your thoughts back to reality. He stood and offered you his arm. “If you have the time, I think I’d like to take my girlfriend out for some coffee this morning.”

His words almost didn’t even register in your mind. Did he just refer to you as his girlfriend? Thinking about it was one thing, but hearing the word come from his mouth was a whole other experience.

“I’d like that,” you responded, now emboldened by your confessions to each other. You stood and took his hand. “Perhaps my boyfriend would like to take me ice skating while we are here as well?”

“Yes, I would be honored to,” he smiled and the two of you made off in the direction of the cafe. You walked hand in hand as if you were destined by the Six to be together.


	6. The Confession Part 2

Ignis had just picked up Noctis and his friend Prompto from class. He had received a text from the prince at lunchtime that Prompto was going to spend the weekend at his apartment for a marathon of video games and binge watching movies. And could Ignis please, please, please make his seafood paella for them tonight?

Ignis sighed. Having Noct move into his own apartment outside the Citadel when he turned sixteen had been his idea. He had hoped it would instill some responsibility into the prince, but thus far it seemed to be a bit of a backfire. He realized Noct was still young and he was indeed happy that the prince was able to enjoy what little shard of a normal childhood he was able to have. However, in light of the recent skirmishes outside the city, Ignis wished for just a moment that he’d have the same focus on his future role as king as he did for video games, even if it was for just a day. The recent reports from the meetings he’d attended in Noct’s stead lay unread on the young man’s kitchen table.

The two teens were excitedly talking about what terrible b-movies they could watch that weekend when Noct grabbed the back of Ignis’s seat. “Hey, could you drop us off at that comic store while you’re grocery shopping?”

Ignis sighed and put his turn signal on to pull in front of the shop. “I won’t be long, so don’t linger. Meet me back out here in fifteen minutes. And you are not to go elsewhere without me, understood?”

An incident over the summer still grated against Ignis’s nerves. A drunken naysayer of the crown had made to attack the prince when he was on an outing in the city with his shield and friend, Gladio. Fortunately for the drunk, Gladio had vowed to never hurt a Lucian citizen and took a scar across his face in defense instead of killing the man outright. Although truthfully it might have been a blessing for the man to be dead. The drunk was now rotting away in a prison on a life sentence for treason against the crown. Noctis was shaken by the incident, but completely unhurt, thank the Six.

“Yes, sir,” Noct said hopping out of the car. Prompto saluted Ignis as he followed Noct out of the backseat.

Ignis drove down the block to the grocery store and parked the car. He had made a mental list of ingredients for the paella dish he was going to make tonight. He gathered what he needed while perusing the new stock of spices that had come in. Hmmm. Schier turmeric. He smelled the jar and decided to add it to his basket. It would certainly come in handy in some future recipe. He stopped by the coffee aisle on his way out and grabbed a six pack of Ebony to replenish the stock in his office.

Securing the bags on the front seat, he drove back to the comic store and put the car in park with the engine running. Who was he kidding, he thought. Did he really expect them to listen when he said he would be back in fifteen minutes to pick them up? After no sign of the two after a few minutes, he killed the engine and started into the store with a sigh.

It was a quirky little shop tucked into the strip of stores that lined this area. An old fashioned bell fastened to the top of the door tinkled as he walked in. He could hear Noct and Prompto talking excitedly about something, along with a female voice interjecting now and then. Well, at least that explains the delay, he thought. He was half afraid they wandered out into the streets without him.

A girl in a comic shop probably had Prompto head over heels and a stuttering mess, Ignis laughed to himself. For as attractive as the young man was he sure fell apart in front of women. A small voice in the back of Ignis’s mind reminded him, however, that he had felt like a bumbling fool in front of you a few times, too. Women did have quite the way of casting spells on men.

As he made his way to the back of the store, the girl’s voice started to ring with some familiarity to him. “There you two are. I have groceries in the car that need to be properly refrigerated sooner than later...”

As the girl turned to look at him he realized why he had recognized the voice. It was y/n, he thought. Y/n was here in the shop talking to Noctis and Prompto. Prompto had been leaning against your shoulder as he spoke, and to boot, it looked like the three of you had your phones out and ready to exchange numbers.

When his eyes met yours all you could do was stand there with you mouth agape, looking between him, Prompto, and Noctis.

“Good day, y/n,” Ignis finally managed. A bit of what he could only assume to be jealousy surged in his chest. For once, Prompto didn’t seem to be his nervous, stuttering self in front of a girl. Was he trying to get your number to hook up with you later? Surely he wasn’t your type, he thought.

You could only manage a meek, “Hey,” in response, the shocked look still on your face.

“I knew you liked to read, but I didn’t realize that extended to comics as well,” Ignis said, still quite perplexed at what was truly going on.

“And she plays King’s Knight too!” Prompto chimed in before you could answer back, waving his phone around excitedly.

Now things were starting to make a bit more sense, Ignis thought. Of course! You were swapping phone numbers to play that new game that had been slowly taking over half of Insomnia’s free time.

He saw the comic book version of the game on the shelf in front of the three of you and deduced how the whole conversation must have started. He silently chastised himself for jumping to such rash conclusions about Prompto’s intentions. And besides, the two of you were nothing more than work friends, right? You were entitled to like whom ever you wanted. Despite that, though, there was still that voice in the back of his mind crying out that he wanted to be that person in your life.

“You know each other?” Noct asked you, but giving Ignis a knowing look. For the last few weeks Noctis had been trying to connive out of him what had him so distracted lately. The fact that Gladio was convinced of the same thing only fueled the prince on even more. It was almost a competition between his two friends as to who was going to out him first.

To be fair, though, Ignis had burned dinner at Noct’s apartment one night a few weeks ago. He had been thinking back to the facial expressions you had made as you ate lunch with him that day. The coy smiles you gave him from under your lashes and the way you bit your lower lip when you couldn’t quite think of the right thing to say drove him absolutely crazy. He blamed the mishap on the temperature of the new stove not being properly adjusted yet. Noct had just raised his eyebrow at him in disbelief, but hadn’t pushed the issue further.

Ignis’s eyes were drawn back to yours, noting the still panicked expression you wore. It was quite obvious that you had finally concluded who Noct was.

Ignis thought quickly to try to ease the situation for you. “Y/n is part of the tour and guest department at the Citadel. We’ve had the occasion to enjoy each other’s company a few times.”  
There, he knew you from the Citadel. That should break the ice for you as well as take the pressure of Noct’s growing suspicions off of him as well.

“I-I-I d-didn’t realize who you were. Your highness? Um, wow, I’m sorry. I...” you stuttered. Well, Ignis thought, at least it got her to speak again, but it unfortunately didn’t diffuse any of your anxiety.

“Hey, no worries. And none of that, your highness stuff. If you’re friends with Iggy, then it’s just Noct to you,” Noctis smiled at you. “And blondie over there is Prompto. Anyhow, since we all know each other’s names now, let’s swap numbers before Iggy has a heart attack over his food thawing in the car,” Noct added.

Ignis rolled his eyes at the comment. Sure, he could be uptight when something went against his internalized schedule, but he wasn’t that overbearing. He picked at his gloves as he waited for you to exchange numbers. He almost wanted to advise against it, more for his and your sakes, but decided in the end to remain silent.

“We’ll hit you up for a game when we can,” Prompto said to you as you all made your way back to the front of the shop.

You gave the guys a small wave as you made your way over to the the counter.

Ignis lingered behind for a moment, feeling that he needed to say more to you in the moment. Instead, he settled on giving you a small smile and a nod as he headed out to the car with the others.

                    _________________

A few minutes into the ride to Noct’s apartment, Ignis finally dared to look in the rear view mirror. The prince caught his gaze and put on that knowing smirk again.

“So, Iggy, thought you said there wasn’t a girl?” he questioned.

Ignis sighed. It wasn’t that he was trying to hide you or deny the fact that he was falling for you from any of them. He just didn’t want to look the fool when either nothing came of it or you turned him down to find someone more capable of devoting themselves to you.

“I told you she is just an acquaintance that I enjoy having a conversation with from time to time,” he repeated his earlier sentiment.

“Dude, she’s hot! You can’t tell me you aren’t crushing on that!” Prompto said leaning halfway over the front seat. “Aaaand - I have her phone number! I’ll give it to you. You should call her!!!”

Ignis laughed out loud at the whole situation. He had already been texting you on a regular basis for about a month now. He decided to let that fact go unknown for the time being. “I’m sure if she wanted me to have her number she would have already given it to me.”

“Iggy’s got a girlfriend, Iggy’s got a girlfriend,” Prompto chanted quietly like a young child in a playground as he sat back down in his seat. Noct was still smirking at him in the mirror. Ignis sighed and turned the radio up as he merged onto the highway leading to the apartment.

                    _________________

An hour later at Noct’s place, the two younger men were intensely focused on a video game while Ignis worked on dinner in the kitchen. The open floor plan of the apartment allowed them to chat together as they played and cooked.

He decided to send you a text while he was waiting for a pot of water to boil. He wanted make sure you were ok after what happened in the comic store earlier.

**Ignis:** Sorry. I’m sure that was quite awkward for you earlier : -/

**Y/n:** It’s all good. Near death experiences just add to your character, right?

**Ignis:** Lol. Perhaps so.

**Ignis:** The children are getting restless. I must feed them before they revolt and and overthrow the kingdom

**Y/n:** May the Six lend you their strength then x-D

**Y/n:** ttyl

**Ignis:** I look forward to it. :-)

At least you seemed more nonchalant now, he thought. You really looked as though you were going to either faint or run away when you realized who Noct was. If anything would ever go further with you, you would have to get use to being in his presence. The thought of you being here right now hanging out with the three of them was a warming thought. You seemed to have already found common ground with Noct and Prompto so it definitely could be a possibility.

~~~~~~~~  
_During a cutscene in the game, Noct looked over his shoulder out to the kitchen. Ignis seemed to be texting someone and unconsciously smiling back at the responses. Sure, he thought sarcastically. Just an acquaintance._  
~~~~~~~~

Drat, Ignis thought all of sudden. He had forgotten to pick up some saffron. It was essential to the dish and nothing else could substitute for it. He turned the stove off and grabbed his keys. “I’ll be back in few - I need to run back to the store,” he said his way out the door, not realizing he left his phone behind in his haste.

_~~~~~~~~  
Stretching and pausing the game, Noctis headed into the kitchen to get himself and Prompto something to drink. He saw Ignis’s phone on the counter and the urge to sneak around on it became irresistible._

_Unlike the last time Noct got his hands on it, there was now a prompt for a passcode to gain access. It only took a few tries for him to get the correct code. For as intelligent as Iggy was, he’s always been way too predictable to me, he thought. He skimmed through this photos and emails and then opened up his messaging app to see who he was texting while he was cooking. Low and behold, there was your name at the top of the screen as his last conversation._

_“Hey, Prom!” he chuckled. “Check it out!”_

_Prompto joined him in the kitchen. “Isn’t that Iggy’s phone? He’s gonna kick your ass if he finds you’re snooping on it!”  
Noctis shrugged and held the phone up for Prompto to see the screen, pointing to your name._

_“Looks like Iggy didn’t come completely clean about having a certain someone’s phone number. And besides, it’s not my problem he was too hot and bothered to remember to take his phone with him.” Noctis’s grin at that point became downright devious. “Anyway, after this he’s gonna thank us, not kick our asses.”_

_“What do you have in mind?” Prompto grinned back._

_“You’ll see,” Noctis said, “just make sure you play along with me the rest of the night.”_

_**Ignis:** I wanted to ask you if you would like to accompany me to the park tomorrow morning? We could go for a walk and get some coffee._

_“You think that sounds convincing?” Noct said after typing and showing the screen to Prompto._

_“Could probably use a more flamboyant phrase like “we could go for a jaunt and get a Venti Latte”,” Prompto said in his best impression of Ignis’s accent. “But it’s good enough.”_

_They burst into laughter as they watched the screen waiting for your response._  
~~~~~~~~

Ignis arrived back at the apartment and resumed making dinner. He casually noted his phone on the counter, realizing he must have forgot to take it with him earlier. He tapped the screen and the prompt for his passcode came up. No harm done he thought to himself. The last time he left his phone unsupervised without a passcode he had found quite a few interesting pictures from Prompto and Noct on it. Namely their buttocks and a lewd picture from a nudie magazine.

The three of them sat down to eat at the dinner table. It was a mostly quiet affair except for the random fit of giggles and kicks under the table shared between Noct and Prompto. Ignis raised his eyebrow at them and they just smiled a cheesy grin back at him.

“I swear I truly don’t even want to know,” Ignis said. That only served to provoke more more giggles from them.

Ignis washed the dishes as the other two went back to their video game. Yawning, he walked up behind them and announced that he would be heading home for the evening if they had no further use for him. “I have some things to do at my office in the morning.”

“On a Saturday, Iggy?” Noct whined. “You need to have a bit of a life sometimes. How about you meet me and Prom by the fountain in the park tomorrow and we go ice skating?”

Prompto joined in agreement with him.

Ignis started to protest but Noct interrupted him. “Prince’s orders,” he grinned. “We’ll meet you at 9am by the fountain.”

“Unless you want us to just go by ourselves?” Prompto added, batting his lashes innocently.

Defeated Ignis waved his hand and mumbled his agreement as he walked toward the door.

Prompto and Noctis whooped and high fived each other with a shared grin.

                    _________________

The next morning, Ignis awoke in a sweat with an impressive erection digging into the mattress beneath him. Unconsciously, he ground himself against it, seeking out more pleasure. As he slowly awoke more, he began to remember the dream he had been having that put him in this current predicament.

He had been seated in a chair in the middle of an empty room with you, naked, on all fours in front of him. His shirt was untucked and unbuttoned and the zipper to his pants was undone. His cock stood upright, hard and ready for you. You crawled over to him, swaying your hips seductively as you went. You sat up on your knees, pushing his legs further apart and took his length into your mouth. Your tongue pressed hard against the underside as you sucked up and down. He had his hands on your head as he thrust himself up into your mouth to hasten you ministrations.

He had now rolled over onto his back and had pushed his pants and underwear down around his thighs. He was pumping himself furiously as he relived the dream. He came into his hand quickly, chest rising hard with ragged breaths.

Maybe I need to just tell her how I really feel, he thought as his breathing slowly evened back out. The sooner I tell her, the sooner she can tell me it won’t work and then maybe I can move on from this.

He thought over how he could broach the subject to you and nothing that wouldn’t end in awkwardness or complete embarrassment could come to mind. He would just have to wait for an opportunity to befall him, he thought. He reached for his glasses from the nightstand and made to get ready to meet Noct and Prompto at the park.

                    _________________

It was a cold December morning, appropriate for ice skating, Ignis thought. The city had a public rink open in the park through most of the winter months. He wasn’t exactly the best skater, but it was a fun activity to look forward to from time to time.

He walked towards the fountain, pulling his coat and scarf a little closer around him to ward off the chill in the air. It bit at his cheeks and nose, shading them a rosy pink. A small boy was running around chasing some birds, oblivious to the cold. His parents walked behind him, holding hands and looking lovingly between themselves and their child. An older couple slowly walked by, hand in hand, helping each other along. Ignis gave them a smile as he passed.

As he approached the fountain, he saw you sitting on a bench and he slowed to a halt. You must have heard his approach and turned to wave at him with a smile on your face as if you were expecting him.

What is y/n doing here? And where are Noctis and Prompto? Suspicions started surfacing in his mind.

He remembered that he had accidentally left his phone behind when he made the trip back to the grocery store the prior evening. And then there were the fits of giggles and knowing grins the two currently missing boys kept sharing at dinner. Perhaps the passcode on his phone wasn’t as foolproof, or as “Noctproof”, as he thought. He sighed and started walking toward you again.

Ignis sat beside you on the bench, noticing the excitement you had at greeting him just a moment ago had faded into a look of nervous disappointment. You were chewing your bottom lip.

“My apologies,” he said to you with his hands clasped together, leaning on his knees and looking straight ahead.

“It’s ok, I know why you asked me here. I don’t blame you. This whole notion I’ve had in my head has just been foolish.” He picked up on the slight waiver in your voice, as if you were trying not to cry.

He turned to face you now. You were still looking straight ahead, refusing to make eye contact with him. You obviously seemed to think meeting you here this morning was his idea. His suspicions were being confirmed.

Chuckling, he said to you, “My intentions were to meet Noct and Prompto here this morning to go ice skating.”

You finally looked up at him in confusion. Despite your current emotional state, he couldn’t help but think how beautiful you looked with your cheeks a rosy pink from the cold.

“I think we have been set up, y/n,” he confessed to you.

“But you sent me a text asking me to meet you here,” you responded, shaking your head, obviously not understanding what was going on.

Ignis pulled out his phone and went to his messages, confirming at last the hard evidence in all of its shining glory.

“Indeed I did,” he said with a laugh. “It all makes sense now. I had to run back to the store yesterday evening to get an ingredient I forgot and I inadvertently left my phone on Noct’s kitchen counter. I wondered why the two of them were giggling like school girls at me the rest of the night. They must have gone through my phone, saw my texts to you, and decided to have a little fun with us. Then, before I left last night Noct asked me to meet them here to go ice skating this morning.”

You continued to chew your lip as you appeared to mull the situation over in your head. “So you didn’t mean to meet me here at all then?” Your prior look of disappointment was now evident in your voice.

“I did not. But it is quite the opportunity, I think,” Ignis said. The chance he had wished for just a few hours ago was now sitting in his lap. His pulsed quickened as he realized there was no backing out of this now. He had to tell you how he truly felt.

“I am not one for ambiguity, but I’m afraid I have been just that with you,” he said. You briefly returned his gaze only to quickly look back to your hands. Not only had you just sounded like you were on the verge of crying, you now looked as though you were doing your best to hold back tears. He studied your profile for a moment, summoning up the last of the courage he needed.

“I really like you, a lot...” There, he said it. The cat was out of the proverbial bag. He took a deep breath and noticed your posture seemed to change, you almost seemed to be holding your breath. He went on, “You have had me so distracted lately, that everyone is starting to notice. Every time I have wanted to confess that to you, I was so afraid that you would reject me that I just couldn’t find the words to tell you.”

Your eyes snapped up to meet his and you studied each other’s faces for a moment. Finally you spoke.

“What ever made you think I would reject you? I-I like you a lot too. But it’s just a silly crush. I could never hold a candle to you. And I’m just common born. If I wasn’t so intelligent, I wouldn’t even be employed anywhere near the Citadel...” he interrupted you before you could continue to demean yourself.

“You do have feelings for me then?” The warmth that spread through him at the thought that his feelings towards you were mutual was enough to make him want to shed his coat.

“I do, but like I said, I’m don’t know what you could ever want with someone like me.” You responded, ever chewing at that lip. He was surprised it wasn’t bleeding by now.

He turned his body to face you now. He contemplated how you both had been harboring the same feelings for each other, right down to the unfounded uncertainties about being together. This was going to stop today. He had always been a straightforward person and this cloud of doubt in himself that had plagued him since meeting you needed to go. The same sentiments were obviously playing with your mind as well.

He took one of your hands into his.

“You are intelligent, kind, creative, and not to mention downright beautiful,” he said. “Quite frankly, I could care less if you were conceived and born in a caravan in the parking lot of Hammerhead.” He went on, “I thought you wouldn’t want anything to do with me because of my position, my duties. My inability to devote myself wholly to a relationship because of them.”

“Ignis,” you started, but he interrupted you again, now bent on making his feelings clear.

“I want to make this work. I am willing to make this work. I have been thinking about this over and over lately. I really want to be with you as more than a friend.”

You were looking at him, mouth opening and closing trying to form your thoughts into words. Ignis’s rediscovered confidence waivered a bit waiting for your response.

“I do too,” you finally said, expression softening and your hand relaxing into his.

The two of you held each other’s gaze for a moment before he continued.

“Well, I think that settles it then,” he said, standing and offering you his arm. “If you have the time, I think I’d like to take my girlfriend out for some coffee this morning.” As he had mentioned just minutes before, he was not one for ambiguity and wanted to be clear what you now where to him.

“I’d like that,” you responded, seemingly finding purchase in the resurfacing confidence he knew you possessed. You stood and took his hand in yours. “Perhaps my boyfriend would like to take me ice skating while we are here as well?”

“Yes, I would be honored to,” he smiled. Hearing you call him yours thrilled him to no end.

The two of you headed off to the cafe, hand in hand like the Astrals had ordained your unity.


	7. The Kiss Part 1

As you laid in bed Monday morning, slowly waking yourself, your thoughts immediately went to the day you had just spent with Ignis. It had gone by so quickly, it almost felt like a dream. You couldn’t believe the prince himself, with the aid of his friend, had set the whole thing up.

~~~~~~~~  
There wasn’t a day in the recent past that you could remember enjoying yourself so much in the company of another. Ice skating had turned into a ridiculous affair, the majority of which was spent on your backside on the ice. You thought back to how carefree Ignis had looked, a boyish grin on his face as he offered his hand to help you up for what seemed to be the fifteenth time. For a change, he had looked his twenty years of age and not the man aged ahead of time by his dedication the crown. You wished the day could have lasted forever.

The two of you had picked up a light lunch and then wandered into a local art exhibit. You admired most of the art, while making up your own comical interpretations of some of the more abstract works.

As the daylight waned, the two of you decided to stop by a café to pick up a sandwich and a coffee before heading home. Ignis had insisted on driving you back to your apartment, even though it was within walking distance. He pulled up in the roundabout in the front of the building and put the car in park. The two of you sat awkwardly for a moment.

“I really had a great time today,” you had finally broke the silence, turning to him. “I’m glad things happened the way they did.” The time you had spent with him that day made you feel like you had known him for a lifetime and not just a few short months. You looked up into his eyes.

“I really did, too,” he had told you quietly. He seemed suddenly shy. “I’ll see you at work on Monday?”

You had nodded to him and then started to open the car door. “Goodnight, Ignis.”

“Goodnight, y/n,” he had smiled back. His cheeks were as flushed as yours were.

You had gotten out of the car and walked into the building, turning to wave as you went in the door. He had waved back as he leaned over to look out the passenger window to watch you go in. You sorely wished you had taken the chance and kissed him before you parted.

~~~~~~~~

Your third snooze alarm finally made you push the memories of that day aside and you got up to get ready for another day of work.

                    _________________

To say you were distracted at work over the next few days was an understatement. Hallie embarrassingly caught you smiling off into nothingness a few times and had to repeat herself more than once to bring you back from the clouds you were floating in.

“You are so in love, I can’t stand it!” she beamed at you as you sorted through the day’s tour reservations on Tuesday.

“Oh, stop!” you retorted back, blushing. “And besides, you’re worse - every month it’s a new guy!”

“Hey, now! I can’t help it I’m picky!” The two of you broke out into giggles. “So, get any good pics? I was waiting for at least text or two from you this weekend,” she frowned.

“Hmmm, just this one.” You got out your phone and pulled up a selfie of you with Ignis that you had taken just after the skating debacle. The two of you had your flushed cheeks pressed side by side so you could fit in the picture together. Both of you were grinning like children. She took the phone out of your hand to look closer at the picture. “OMG! You two are so cute together!”

You beamed. “I have to keep looking at it to remind myself I’m not dreaming.”

You told her more details about your day and explained the lack of pictures. “Thankfully he seems to be like me and doesn’t like to have his picture taken every 5 minutes.” You gave her a look.

She rolled her eyes at you. “I’ve never done that!” she feigned shock.

You took your phone back as the first people for the ten a.m. tour started gathering at the counter. You both sighed as you said, “Time to get back to work...”

                    _________________

To your dismay, you didn’t see Ignis that day or the next. He had sent you a quick text the evening before to give you his apologies at being busy and not having a chance to catch up with you at lunch as usual. He informed you he would likewise be occupied for the remainder of the week. You were anxious to see him again, but understood that his duties came first.

On Thursday, he finally snuck enough time to stop by the tour office in the late morning to ask for you. Hallie announced a little too loudly into the back office that you had a “visitor”.

“Just a minute, Hallie!” you answered back from behind the computer screen as you worked on entering the tour schedule for the next week. It was probably just a guest you had worked with recently, they’d just have to wait while you finished. A few minutes later, you came out of the office and realized it was Ignis that you had been making wait. The intern at the counter was unabashedly swooning over him. As usual, he didn’t even seem to notice. Hallie was failing miserably at trying to make herself look busy and disinterested in his presence.

Instead of his usual dress attire, he had on a gray shirt emblazoned with the Crownsguard logo and athletic pants. His hair was a bit disheveled from exercise and sweat. He looked downright delectable.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t realize it was you!” you admitted.

“No worries. I figured you would be busy. I wanted to catch you on my break to see if you are free Saturday evening? I’m afraid my schedule is horrendous this week with training and I doubt I will be able to see you much until then.” He seemed to be a bit uptight talking to you in front of the other women you worked with. “I thought we could go on a more official date.”

“Sure. What did you have in mind?” you asked, trying to ignore the stares from Hallie and the intern you could feel burning into the back of your head.

“There is a restaurant I really like that has a dish I haven’t tried yet. I thought perhaps we could go out for dinner?” he suggested.

The intern was trying her best to keep her mouth closed. You had to stifle a laugh. “I’d love to!”

“Great! I’ll text you that morning to let you know what time I will pick you up,” he said stepping back from the counter. “Unfortunately, I must be getting back to the training hall before my break is over.” You waived to each other as he headed off again.

The intern finally found her tongue once he was gone. “Y-you’re dating him?!”

“Yeah, um, yes. I am.” You still felt like you needed to pinch yourself to make sure it was a reality. Yes, I am, you repeated to yourself again in your head.

                    _________________

 _Your heart was pounding as hard as your footsteps were as you ran down the street. A dawning horror was unfolding behind you. Try as you might, you just couldn’t quite comprehend what you were fleeing from, but you just knew you had to run._  
_You turned down side streets, alleyways, and residential blocks. You sprinted through parking lots and deserted intersections. Whatever you were running from was always just behind you. You were hopelessly lost in a city that should have been so familiar, but something about it was not quite right._  
_A small cry came from your right and you saw a child clutching a dirtied moogle plushie, cowering in the middle of the road. As you stopped to approach them, all sounds ceased and the world immediately around you became hyper-focused. You knelt in front of the child and they slowly looked up into your eyes. To your horror, fire burnt in their empty sockets. They turned to look from the direction you came from and then back to you with a terrifying sneer on their face. ‘It comes for you as it will come for all.’_  
_You turned to face your nightmare and a blackness overtook you, swallowing your screams._  
~~~~~~~~

You practically fell out of bed when you were awoken by the text alert on your phone. It took you a moment to compose you senses and figure out what the hell you had just dreamt about. The t-shirt you were sleeping in was drenched in sweat. As your pulse settled, details about the odd dream were already becoming hazy.

You focused back to your phone and saw it was Ignis that had messaged you.

 **Ignis:** I was able to get reservations at 7 tonight. Shall I pick you up at 6:30?

Astrals, he gets up early, you thought.

 **Y/n:** Sounds good. Can’t wait! ^‿^

 **Ignis:** Me too. I have been looking forward to spending the evening with you all week. ; )

 **Ignis:** I must keep this short - I have some errands to run. See you tonight!

 **Y/n:** ♡

                    _________________

You had sent a text of your plans to Hallie as you had promised her. Somehow, she had managed to convince you that you needed a complete makeover before your date.

Around 5 p.m. you heard an expected knock at your door. You opened it to Hallie carrying way too much stuff to possibly get one person ready for a night out. There was a hair dryer and curling irons poking out of one bag and bottles of product in another. The makeup bag she brought looked like it could double as an overnight bag. You looked at her with skepticism.

She shrugged her shoulders. “A girl always has to be prepared!”

“I’m going out to dinner, Hallie, not a formal ball at the Citadel.” You ushered her into your apartment.

She scurried back to your bathroom and started plugging in her gadgets and unpacking her makeup. Quite frankly, you were more comfortable with a simple updo, mascara, and a bit of pale lipstick.

“Well don’t just stand there, go get dressed!” she ordered you as you watched her finish unpacking.

“Yes m’am!” You saluted her and headed into your bedroom.

Ignis wouldn’t divulge where he was taking you, but you were at least able to get out of him that a simple dress would be suitable attire for the evening. You were hoping for something a bit more casual, you were most at home in a pair of leggings and an oversized sweater. When you found out you had to wear a blouse and skirt for your tour guide position, you had almost had second thoughts about taking the job. At least you owned an understated black dress and a cute pair of heels so you don’t have to go shopping.

You rejoined Hallie in the bathroom and she howled like a havocfang at you. “You clean up pretty nice!”

“Stop!” you laughed at her.

“So do you think you’ll go back to his place or yours tonight?” Hallie questioned you with a devious look.

“Hallie! I doubt either of us is even thinking about that this evening. This is like our second date, if you even want to count last weekend as one.” You blushed at the thought of what she just implied. You had certainly had some pretty wicked fantasies about him and your core flickered a bit at the reality that you might actually get to be intimate with him at some point.

“Hey, ya never know! He is a guy. I’m sure he’s undressed you in his mind a hundred times already,” she said as she picked out some eyeshadow colors. She smirked when she turned to you and saw you blushing. “And by the look on your face, I’m sure you’ve thought that and more about him.”

You couldn’t even think how to respond besides turning a darker shade of pink.

Hallie laughed. “Go sit down. If you keep it up, I won’t even need to use blush on you!”

You shook your head letting out a sigh and a chuckle and sat on the closed toilet seat. Hallie mischievously wrung her hands over her make up choices as she eyed you up. “Conservative please!” you begged.

She stuck her tongue out at you. “You’re no fun!”

She set to work on you and refused to let you look in the mirror until she was done. The closer it got to Ignis picking you up, the more anxiety you felt at not being able to undo all of the makeup and hair products she was using on you. When she finally finished, you slowly peeked into the mirror with one eye and then gasped in surprise. She had done such an amazing job. You didn’t consider yourself unattractive, but you had never looked at yourself and thought the word ‘beautiful’ before. Your face was glowing and your eyes were subtlety shadowed without being overdone. She had curled your hair and pulled it loosely up with some hairpins she was letting you borrow.

“And you choose to work a menial job in the Citadel?! You need to be working on movie sets! This is amazing, Hallie!”

“I gotta pay the bills somehow!” she laughed as she gathered up her arsenal. “Well, lover boy is going to be here soon, so I better get going.”

You helped her carry her things to the door. “Thanks, Hallie. I really mean it! It’s been a while since I’ve had a friend as good as you.” Your intelligence didn’t land you in the popular crowd too often in grade school, and college wasn’t much better. Since you had graduated early, you were years younger than your peers, hence you had kept mostly to yourself.

Hallie gave you a hug. “Us girls have to look out for each other, right?” She put her hands on your shoulders and stood back to take a last look at you. “You look stunning. Have fun tonight - and relax! The two of you are good for each other - it’s like the Astrals brought you together for a reason or something.”

You handed her the rest of her bags and she started down the hall. She turned back to you, grinning. “Now don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”

You laughed. “I have a ways to go to catch up to you!”

“Hey now! That hurt!” she feigned being stabbed in the chest as she laughed back as well.

You waved to her as you went back into your apartment. The sudden quiet at Hallie’s departure made your nerves start to act up. You and Ignis had been so at ease with each other last weekend, you didn’t know what was making you uptight tonight. You supposed last time was so spur of the moment you didn’t have time to think about it like you did now. To keep from pacing, you busied yourself getting your jacket and purse ready.

You made your way down to the building’s foyer. Ever punctual, Ignis pulled in at exactly 6:30. He put the car in park and got out to greet you. He look incredibly striking tonight. He had a light jacket on over an untucked white dress shirt, the top button undone. And did he have cologne on? That’s new, you thought. He admired you for a moment as he opened the car door for you.

“You look beautiful as ever,” he praised you. You thought about what Hallie had said about him undressing you in his mind and almost forgot how to breathe.

“Thanks,” you blushed at him. “As for you - I don’t think you are even capable of looking anything but handsome.” You got into the passenger seat.

He chuckled as he shut your door. He took his place back in the driver’s seat. “You’d be surprised at what a day of cleaning Noct’s apartment can do to one’s appearance. I was quite the mess earlier today.”

He drove away from your apartment and onto the highway that led towards the city’s center. He fiddled with the radio for a few moments, trying to decide on a station. You noted that he seemed uncharacteristically nervous. At least I’m not the only one, you thought.

You decided to break the ice. “So, are you going to tell me where we are going, yet?”

“And why would I tell you now? That would ruin all the fun, wouldn’t it?” he grinned. “We’ll be there soon enough.”

He took the exit for downtown and followed the main streets toward the Citadel. A few blocks away, he turned into a valet lot for the restaurant.

“The Golden Trident!” you exclaimed. “You remembered I wanted to come here!” Ever since the place had opened a few months ago and Ignis had talked about how good the food was, you wanted to go there. You had taken one look at their menu online and decided it was a bit too expensive for your pocketbook, though. Not to mention a little outclassed for you. No wonder he had suggested you wear a dress.

He smiled at you. “Worth the wait, wasn’t it?”

“Yes!” you were actually glad he didn’t cave into your questioning.

The valet attendants opened the door for you, and Ignis took care of tipping them.

As the two of you headed into the restaurant, he took your hand into his and gave you a smile that made you flush.

Stepping up to the podium at the entrance he announced your reservation for 7 p.m. under Scientia.

“Ah, Yes!” The maître d’ said. “Right this way.”

Ignis nodded and waved you ahead of him, placing his hand momentarily on your low back as you moved ahead of him. You felt sparks at the contact and cursed yourself for wearing heels. You were sure your legs were going to give out on you at some point tonight.

You were led back to a smaller section of the restaurant. The place was opulent, as you had expected. Crystal chandeliers dotted the ceiling and the silverware and place settings looked incredibly expensive. Tanks lined the wall in the room you were in and were filled with exotic tropical fish. Everything was absolutely perfect about tonight.

Ignis pulled your chair out for you before he took his across from you. The maître d’ reviewed the house specials and the wine list before leaving you with the menus to peruse. The legal drinking age was 20, you disappointedly remembered. Your parents had let you have the occasional glass of wine with them when you were home, so you already knew how your tastes ran. You still had several months to go, though, before you were old enough to actually order in public. You were dying to try one of these wines.

Ignis must have read your mind. “I’ve ate here several times and they have never asked for ID. I think you should be safe to order a glass if you’d like.”

Wow, a bit of a rebellious side to him, you thought to yourself somewhat surprised. It was thrilling to get to know the real him. “Great! I was just thinking how much I wanted to try a glass!”

“The Riesling is excellent if you decide to get chicken,” he excitedly recommended.

You both looked over the menu as he made some suggestions about the foods he had already sampled on previous visits. He decided on the grilled salmon that he had yet to try and you settled on the chicken curry. You felt a little silly ordering chicken at a seafood restaurant, but you wanted to try the Riesling he had recommended would go with the dish. He suggested the two of you order the calamari as an appetizer. You were a little hesitant since you had never tried it before, but he insisted you would love it.

The waiter introduced himself and took your orders and promised to have the appetizer and wine out shortly. As you hoped, he didn’t ask for any verification of your age. You took a sip of your water and started to think of what to talk about.

Ignis beat you to the chase. “So, you have some interesting hobbies - comics and crocheting? Dare I ask how you came to enjoy those?”

You chuckled. “Well, my grandma lived with us until she passed away when I was ten and she taught me how to crochet when I was just little. We would both sit there some evenings crocheting while she’d tell me stories of her and my grandpa when they were young. It’s just something I always have fallen back on when I need to unwind. There’s just something about following a pattern and making something beautiful from a bunch of string that is so relaxing.” You continued on, waxing nostalgic, “And comics, well, I can blame my dad for that. He practically read them to me as bedtime stories when I was little and started buying me my own as soon as I could read and showed my own interest in them.”

Ignis was resting his chin on his knuckles as he intently listened to you reminisce. “It sounds like you had quite the close knit family to encourage you along at such a young age.” He seemed a bit melancholic.

“How about you?” you questioned back. “What about your parents? I’m sure they must be insanely proud of you.”

He seemed to stiffen up a bit at your question. You started to think that you should have asked him about his cooking hobby instead of his family.

The waiter brought the appetizer and wine out, and thankfully distracted the conversation a bit.

“I-I actually don’t know my parents,” he admitted nibbling on the calamari. “They passed in a car accident when I was just an infant. My aunt and uncle took me in. My uncle is an attendant to King Regis and he had mentioned he wanted to enroll me in a school for gifted children. I suppose the rest is history,” he smiled. “The king offered to see to my education in exchange for my service to the prince...”

Ignis trailed off, distracted by the young girl following behind the maître d’ to a table across the room.

“Oh! Gladdy! Look at the fish!!” She ran to the wall by their table and pressed her face to the tank.

The tall young man, a bit older than you, commented to what looked to be their father, “You can dress her up, but you can’t take her out.” He grabbed the girl in a headlock and teased his knuckles in her hair.

“Hey!” She yelped, getting out of his grasp. She glanced up to your table and cried out, “Iggy!”

You looked over to him and it looked like the color was slowly draining from his face. You looked back over to the other table and saw ‘Gladdy’ grinning like the cat that caught the mouse. The older, well dressed man took his seat and nodded at Ignis.

The girl, who appeared to have just started her teen years, ran over to your table. Her brother, you assumed, took his time walking over with his hands in his pockets, still grinning.

“Iris,” Ignis greeted her with a smile finally reforming on his face.

“Whatta you doing here? On a date?” she said turning her attention to you as she danced back and forth on her heels with her hands behind her back. You couldn’t keep from blushing, but smiled back at her and looked to Ignis.

“Yes, we are. Iris, this is y/n. Y/n, this is Iris Amicitia,” he introduced you.

“Nice to meet ya!” she said giggling. “You’re really pretty!”

“Well, thank you,” you laughed back to her. “It’s nice to meet you too, Iris. And you’re quite the pretty little thing yourself!” She smiled big enough to show all her teeth to you.

The man at the other table called for Iris to come back to look at the menu. She made a sulking expression at him and slumped. “Bye! Have fun!” she said to you and Ignis as she headed back to him.

The young man stepped up to replace her beside your table, crossing his arms. “So, when were you planning on introducing me?” he directed to Ignis while smiling at you. Astrals, he was handsome and well-built, not to mention somewhat intimidating. What looked to be a massive tattoo made its way out from under his short sleeves and down his arms. How does Ignis know him, you wondered.

Ignis looked at him for a brief moment as if he wanted to put him through one of the fish tanks in the room. “Gladiolus, this is y/n. Y/n this is Gladiolus Amicitia. He can be a bit of a brute sometimes, so don’t mind him.”

Gladiolus turned to you, “And don’t mind Ignis, he can have a stick up his ass some days.” Ignis looked up to Gladiolus and pushed his glasses up with his middle finger. They looked at each other, and to your relief, started cracking up with laughter. “You can just call me Gladio,” he said to you as they calmed down.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, too,” you smiled.

“I better let you two lovebirds get back to your dinner.” He looked over his shoulder to their table. “Iris looks like she is going to sever dad’s last nerve tonight anyhow. Catch ya later.”

As he walked away, Ignis left out a quiet breath you didn’t even realize he was holding and took a fairly long sip of his wine. “So, who are they, exactly?” you asked once Gladio was out of earshot. They seemed like a fairly important family.

“The male Amicitia line has served as the kings’ shield for generations. Clarus is shield to King Regis and Gladio is shield to Noct,” he replied.

“Oh!” You were partially ashamed of yourself for not realizing that. You felt you should recognize all of the important members of the modern royal court because of your position at the Citadel.

You contemplated this thought for a moment while the two of you ate more of the rings of calamari in front of you. You were pleasantly surprised at how much you liked the taste and texture of it. The wine was best you had ever had.

Your thoughts drifted off to the place where you tried so hard to not let them go. You knew Ignis’s position in life, but it still brought things into perspective seeing him on a personal basis with such an upper class family. You glanced around and started wondering if you even deserved to be sitting in such a fancy restaurant. You looked back over to Ignis and he was studying your hands and face as you ate. You stopped your negative thoughts in their track. You cared for Ignis more than you had for anyone in your past and, dare say this early into the relationship, you loved him. That was enough for you to stop caring what anyone else could ever think of you.

The rest of dinner was spent chatting over your food and learning small things about each other’s life. You shared some interesting moments from your experiences at the university and wondered at how you were taking classes around the same time and never ran over into each other. You both admitted you surely would have fell for each other sooner if so.

As dinner wound down, you ordered some coffee and shared a piece of cheesecake. Gladio and his family headed out, stopping by your table to say goodbye. His father was more intimidating up close, you thought. He seemed like a good man, though.

The two of you finished the dessert and finally agreed that it was time to head home. Ignis cleared up the check and tip and the two of you left the restaurant, your hand in his again.

The ride back to your apartment was pleasantly quiet. The classic rock station he put on added just enough background distraction to make talking unnecessary. He took the exit off of the highway and turned down a few roads to your apartment building. He put the car in park and turned to face you.

“I truly look forward to spending time with you. I really enjoyed tonight.” He was studying your eyes looking for your reaction.

“I really like being with you, too,” you held his gaze. You opened your mouth to speak again, but couldn’t put what you were feeling into words.

Looking back on what you did next, you were shocked at the boldness that had overtook you. You were afraid if you didn’t take advantage of the moment it would be gone again all too soon. You started to lean towards him as you closed your eyes. Before you could change your mind you brought a hand up to his cheek and pressed your lips to his. At first he was still, and you started to doubt yourself. Maybe this was too soon? As you started to pull away, though, his hand came up to cover yours and he moved back into the kiss. His lips parted this time and he brought your lower lip between them. After what felt like an eternity, you moved back from him. You had to consciously remember how to breathe and your chest was fluttering. Ignis looked as if he was feeling the same way. He ran his tongue briefly over his lips as if he had to confirm what just happened.

You smiled at each other, both of you with blush-tinted cheeks.

“Goodnight, Ignis,” you said moving your hand to open the car door.

“Goodnight y/n,” he answered.

You made your way into the building and up to your apartment on the seventeenth floor. As you got off the elevator, you paused for a minute to look out the window at the end of the hallway. From here you could see the city of Insomnia lit up and glistening like a jewel against the clear night sky. As you thought about what you had been given in life, now to include Ignis, you felt indebted to the Six. You smiled to yourself and turned to go in your apartment.


	8. The Kiss Part 2

Ignis woke a little later than usual for a Sunday and groaned when he looked at his phone. He realized he had never set his alarm. He had been so distracted when he got home the night before after spending the day with you. He couldn’t stop thinking about your beautiful face and the genuine smile that graced it the entire day. It had been too long since he had a day entirely devoted to his own pleasure. He wanted to spend every waking minute with you.

He smiled as the thoughts of you came back to him again. He had finally admitted that he wanted to be with you, and spending the day solely in your company had made him feel like there was a link between the two of you that was intended to be. Never before in his life had he felt such a bond with someone, save Noctis.

Right, Noctis, he thought as he sat up and ran his hands through his hair and stretched. Since he didn’t have time with him yesterday, he’d have to use today to bring him up to speed on the end of the week meetings and prep food for his meals for the week.

He grabbed his phone and glasses from the bedside table and sent him a text.

Ignis: I’ll be a little late this morning, so I’ll pick up some breakfast on the way. Do try to be up when I get there.

He sat his phone back down, knowing the prince wouldn’t respond and would more than likely still be buried in his blankets when he arrived. He padded off to the kitchen to make some Ebony.

                  _________________

As expected, Noct didn’t answer the door when Ignis arrived. He helped himself in and made his way to the bedroom and crudely opened up the curtains. The bed stirred as Ignis turned to announce his arrival. A tuft of blonde hair emerged from the linens and caught him quite off guard. Beside him, the prince’s figure slowly roused itself too, sitting up with his eyes still closed.

“You could have let me know you were coming, Iggy,” he said in a gruff, sleepy voice.

“I did. I sent you a text. I can’t help it that you can sleep through a tremor brought on by Titan himself. I’ll be in the kitchen with breakfast.” He glanced at Prompto, who was now wide awake and looking at him sheepishly. “There’s enough for you, too, if you’re hungry.”

He left the room contemplating the situation that had just unfolded. He had his suspicions that the the two of them had become more than just friends recently. It was nothing too surprising, giving Noctis had never shown much interest in girls and Prompto seemed to go either way. Lunafreya was the only exception, and despite what others thought, Ignis knew well enough that it was merely a deep friendship that had lingered since childhood. It had been so long since they had seen each other due to unfortunate circumstances, the only communication they now had was through Luna’s journal. It was hard to say how much of the relationship was authentic and how much of it was done out of pure habit at this point.

He felt happy for Noct and Prompto to have found both love and friendship in each other. He smiled to himself thinking that it was also those two who helped him finally do the same.

The two sleepy teens eventually made their way to the kitchen and tore into the food. It was like watching ravenous wildlife eat, Ignis thought to himself, amused. Prompto was still avoiding his eye contact. Ignis wanted to tell him to quit being so ridiculous, but he was afraid he would only make him more skittish, bringing up the obvious at this point. Noct finally woke up enough to find his voice.

“So spill the beans, Iggy. How was your ‘date’?” He grinned over his breakfast sandwich.

“Thanks to you two, quite well,” Ignis said with a bit of sarcasm on the first part.

“We have no idea what you’re talking about, right Prom?” he elbowed the blonde making him choke on his bite of food.

“Y-yeah. No clue!” He sputtered clearing his throat. He finally looked at Ignis, blushed, and then stared intently at his plate.

Ignis chuckled, “Well, whatever you say.” He proceeded to give them the details of your day together, blushing a few times himself.

“What, no goodnight kiss?” Noct asked surprised.

“Um, well, no,” Ignis replied. “I hardly think it’s appropriate on a first date.”

“Uh, huh,” Noct replied with drawn out skepticism. “Anyhow, I never thought I’d see the day when you fell head over heels, blushing for a woman.”

Ignis blushed. “I-I’d hardly call it that.” He sighed, exasperated at the realization that his cheeks were hot again. “Ok, maybe a bit.” The three of them broke out into laughter. “Well, we best get down to business before the day is half over. You’re welcome to stay, Prompto, unless you would rather not delve into the current state of politics with us.”

Prompto made a face and jumped up from his chair. “I’d love to, but I have a ton of homework to do, the house needs cleaned...”

“We get it, Prom,” Noct laughed. “I’ll text ya later.”

“Alrighty!” He said heading to the bedroom to gather his things. “See ya ‘round, Iggy!”

Ignis nodded and started to clear the kitchen table to make room for his reports.

                    _________________

Monday had started out good enough with no meetings in sight until the end of the week. Ignis should have known better than to think he could finally get caught up on some paperwork.

Cor popped his head in his office around lunchtime to inform him he needed him down in the training hall in a half hour to go over his assignment with the new Crownsguard recruits. Apparently, half of them needed some desperate training on up close combat with daggers. Gladio would be there, too, to help with the sparring exercises.

“Certainly,” Ignis has responded, while hiding some disappointment. This would mean he wouldn’t have much of a chance to see you in passing, let alone eat lunch with you anytime this week. He would make it up to you, he thought. He had Saturday evening free, so perhaps he’d ask you to dinner later in the week. He grabbed his bag of spare training clothes he kept in his office and headed over to the training hall.

He stopped by the locker room to change and was greeted by a nude Gladio shuffling through a locker for a change of clothes. Ignis cringed at the thought of being so bold. He wasn’t lacking in any way in that department, he just didn’t feel it was necessary for everyone to know what his genitalia looked like.

“Hey, Iggy,” Gladio greeted him. He sat down on the bench beside the bare man to start changing himself.

“Gladio,” Ignis nodded, trying not to turn his head to the side. Gladio’s groin was currently facing him at eye level.

“Heard you had a date this weekend, huh?” Gladio asked.

“And who might have told you that?” Ignis looked up at him a bit surprised. Thankfully he had finally put on a pair of pants.

“Just a little blackbird and his canary,” Gladio said. “I brought pizza to them Saturday night. Apparently, they were about to starve to death because you weren’t there to feed them. They filled me in on the details.”

“I see,” Ignis said pushing up his glasses. He wasn’t trying to hide you from anyone, he just didn’t feel the need to advertise his life to the world. His friends were obviously good enough to do that for him.

“I’m just a little hurt you didn’t tell me about her yourself. How long’ve you been chasing her?” Gladio said raising an eyebrow.

“We’ve been talking for a few months. I haven’t spoke of her because I truly didn’t know what to do with my feelings for her until this weekend. It took Noct setting me up to make me realize them.” Ignis admitted.

“That’s pretty bad if Noct had to help you out,” Gladio laughed slapping him on the back. “A few months, huh? I told you I smelled a woman.” Ignis had almost forgot about Gladio making that comment to him on the day you had bought him the cookbook. Apparently everyone knew what was developing between the two of you before he could even come to terms with it.

“Anyhow, women will mess with your mind that way, ya know. If you need any advice, just ask.”

Ignis chuckled at him, “I’m not sure if I’m ready for any of the advice you have to give.”

Gladio roared with laughter. “Yeah, probably not.”

_________________

The week went by fast. Ignis had messaged you his apologies of not being able to meet you for lunch. He had hoped he would have time to text you in the evenings, but training the recruits had him coming home exhausted and falling right to sleep.

He finally found some time Thursday morning to sneak away during a longer break. He didn’t exactly look his best after the early morning drills, but if he wanted to catch you, he couldn’t dwell on it.

He approached the counter at the tour office. He recognized the girl you were good friends with, Hallie. Ah, yes. Halcyon, he thought remembering her full name when he saw her badge.

“I was wondering if y/n might be available for me to speak with for a moment?” he asked her.

Hallie gave him a knowing smile. “Sure thing!” She walked a few steps back and hollered into a larger office space through a doorway. “Y/n, you have a visitor!” Ignis sighed to himself at the way she sung the last word. He heard a muffled reply as Hallie turned back to him to let him know you’d be out in a moment. He rested his elbows on the counter as he waited.

Hallie busied herself with some paperwork, stealing side-long glances at him and he also noticed the young intern sitting on the other side of her was now staring unabashedly at him. He thought about being polite and starting a conversation with them, but settled on picking at his fingernails instead. After a minute or so, you came out of the office, a bit surprised when you saw it was him.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t realize it was you!” you apologized.

“No worries. I figured you would be busy. I wanted to catch you in person to see if you are free Saturday evening? I’m afraid my schedule is horrendous this week and I doubt I will be able to see you much until then,” he said to you as the other two listened on intently. He started to wish that he had just sent you a text instead of coming to see you in person. He supposed seeing your face light up was more than worth feeling awkward in front of your friend and coworker.

“Sure. What did you have in mind?” you asked excitedly.

“There is a restaurant I really like that has a dish I haven’t tried yet. I thought perhaps we could go out for dinner?”

“I’d love to!” you responded. Ignis was ready to reach over to the intern and push her lower jaw back closed. Surely she has seen other men her age before, he thought. She was staring even more now that she had been listening to your conversation.

“Great! I’ll text you that morning to let you know what time I will pick you up.” He turned to head back to the training hall, giving you a smile as he left. He shook his head, still grinning, hearing the hushed murmurs coming from the other women as he walked away.

                    _________________

Ignis woke with the rising sun Saturday morning. He wanted to get to Noct’s early to clean and prepare food for him so he didn’t have to rush to get ready to pick you up tonight.

He had already dined at The Golden Trident a few times and their fare was delicious. He had decided to make reservations there for the two of you. You had mentioned in passing one day at lunch about wanting to eat there sometime, so he thought it would be a nice surprise for you.

You had tried several times to talk the place out of him, but he refused to give in to you. You finally settled on asking him to at least tell you what to wear. He was at a bit of a loss, current women’s fashion was not high on his priority list. He knew that it was a more upscale restaurant and the women that he could remember eating there all seemed to be wearing casual dresses. He suggested that attire to you, hoping you would be comfortable in it.

He picked up his phone and thought twice about sending you a message so early. Ultimately, he decided to go ahead and text you about the reservation before he got caught up in his work for the day.

 **Ignis:** I was able to get reservations at 7 tonight. Shall I pick you up at 6:30?

 **Y/n:** Sounds good. Can’t wait! ^‿^

It had taken you a few minutes to answer him, he thought, feeling bit sorry for possibly waking you.

 **Ignis:** Me too. I have been looking forward to spending the evening with you all week. ; )

 **Ignis:** I must keep this short - I have some errands to run. See you tonight!

 **Y/n:** ♡

Why a texted heart made his own flutter, he didn’t know. He got himself up and ready, heading out to the grocery store before making his way to the prince’s apartment.

Noctis was with his father at the Citadel today, so Ignis didn’t bother to knock. He entered the residence and headed into the kitchen. He let out an exasperated sigh at the state of the place. Clothes, food wrappers, and paperwork were strewn everywhere and the dirty dishes were piled high in the sink. Gladio always chastised him for enabling Noct by cleaning up after him, but it was a useless battle that no one was ever going to win. At least not until Noct was out of his teens.

He set about cleaning and a few hours later was finally able to start cooking for him for the week. He made several dishes that were easy to reheat and put them in labeled containers in the refrigerator. He had gotten to be quite efficient at incorporating more vegetables into the meals thanks to the book you had bought him. Noct had yet to complain about his food, and from the looks of the garbage can, it didn’t appear to be getting thrown out, either.

He thought about having you over to his place for dinner some evening. He would love to cook for you. The thought of the two of you alone in his apartment was enticing. He sighed and stopped himself from getting sidetracked too far by where those thoughts could go.

He finally headed back to his apartment and hopped into the shower. He looked a sweaty mess after the work at Noct’s.

As his hair dried, he went through his closet deciding what to wear. He settled on a white dress shirt, black pants, and a light jacket. He decided to leave the shirt untucked as was the style with a lot of others his age. It was a bit against his habit, but then again he had been doing a lot outside his comfort zone as of late.

He fussed with his hair a bit, thinking of trying something new with it. After a few failed attempts at trying to get it to look stylishly spiked, he gave up and combed it down as usual. As an afterthought, he threw on a splash of the cologne he rarely used. He looked himself over in the mirror again. Satisfied that he looked good enough to be in your company, he headed out, locking up his apartment behind him.

As he drove to your place, he became even more anxious to see you. He had been looking forward to this evening since he thought to ask you out with him earlier in the week.

He checked the clock as he took the exit that led to your place. 6:28pm. He laughed to himself thinking that he timed it too perfectly that he would be pulling in at exactly 6:30.

As he drove around the circle to the front of the building, he saw you come out of the foyer to meet him. He put the car in park and got out to get the car door for you. He had to pause for a moment to take in how absolutely gorgeous you looked tonight. You wore a simple black dress that was neither too short nor too long. The heels you wore lengthened your already elegant legs. Your hair was styled up and you had a bit more make up on than usual. He almost felt unrefined in the face of your beauty. He started to imagine what type of underwear you might be wearing as well and stopped himself before he got too carried away.

“You look beautiful as ever,” he praised you.

“Thanks,” you blushed at him. “As for you - I don’t think you are even capable of looking anything but handsome.”

He knew he was considered fairly attractive, but he was humble enough to not like it to be turned into a big deal. Hearing it come from you was a different story, though. He felt like it went straight to his head and made it spin. He chuckled a bit in response and made his way back into the driver’s seat. “You’d be surprised at what a day of cleaning Noct’s apartment can do to one’s appearance. I was quite the mess earlier today.”

He drove off back to the highway and towards the city’s center. The restaurant was a few blocks from the Citadel. He played with the radio a bit, indecisive on what station would be best to leave on. The ride had been fairly quiet and he noted you seemed to be a little nervous as well. It was a relief that it wasn’t just him.

You were the first one to break the silence. “So, are you going to tell me where we are going, yet?”

You were persistent, he would give you that much. He grinned at you. “And why would I tell you now? That would ruin all the fun, wouldn’t it? We’ll be there soon enough.”

He turned off the exit for the Citadel and followed the main street that ran past it. A few blocks later he turned into the valet lot for the restaurant.

“The Golden Trident! You remembered I wanted to come here!” He was happy at how excited you were.

“Worth the wait, wasn’t it?” It was certainly worth it to him to see your pleasure at the surprise.

“Yes!” You smiled broadly at him.

The valet attendants approached the car as he got out, opening the door for you. Ignis took care of tipping the gentlemen and came around to take your hand. Being close to you made his chest tighten.

The two of you approached the podium just inside the entrance and he announced your reservation for 7 p.m. under Scientia.

“Ah, Yes!” The maître d’ said. “Right this way.”

Ignis nodded for you to go first and placed his hand on your lower back as you passed. It was an automatic reaction to guide you ahead of him but his breath hitched at the sparks it caused. He hoped you didn’t think it inappropriate.

You were led back to a smaller section of the restaurant that Ignis had requested. He had never been seated in this room, but had remembered seeing the fish tanks and noticed the quieter ambience it seemed to have and thought it would be perfect for tonight.

As you came to your table, Ignis pulled the chair out for you before being seated himself. The maître d’ went over the specials for the evening along with the wine list and handed you the menus. You had a brief look of disappointment when the wines were mentioned and Ignis remembered you were still just 19. Your birthday was in May, so you still had a few months to go before you could legally order. They had never asked for his ID in the past, so you would probably be able to get away with ordering. If not, you could feign unawareness at the legal age.

“I’ve ate here several times and they have never asked for ID. I think you should be safe to order a glass if you’d like,” he suggested to you.

You raised an eyebrow at him, but then quickly said, “Great! I was just thinking how much I wanted to try a glass!”

“The Riesling is excellent if you decide to get chicken.” He gave you his recommendation knowing some of the foods you favored.

As you looked over the menu, he made some more comments on some of the other items he had tried. He decided to get the grilled salmon that he had originally wanted and you settled on the chicken curry. He had been looking forward to ordering the calamari for an appetizer, but you seemed a bit hesitant. When he found out you had never tried it before, he talked you into it. He was sure you would like it. Either way, he was a firm believer that you had to try something before you could honestly say you didn’t like it.

The waiter came to the table to take your orders. He promised to be back with the wine and would bring the appetizer out as soon as it was ready. As Ignis had hoped, he didn’t question your age. He was pleased you took his suggestion at ordering the Riesling. He watched you take a sip of water and you looked like you were searching for your words.

He decided to start the conversation for you, “So, you have some interesting hobbies - comics and crocheting? Dare I ask how you came to enjoy those?”

You chuckled at bit at his question. “Well, my grandma lived with us until she passed away when I was ten and she taught me how to crochet when I was just little. We would both sit there some evenings crocheting while she’d tell me stories of her and my grandpa when they were young. It’s just something I always have fallen back on when I need to unwind. There’s just something about following a pattern and making something beautiful from a bunch of string that is so rewarding.” Even though he doubted he would ever take up a crafting hobby, he could see why you found it pleasurable. “And comics, well, I can blame my dad for that! He practically read them to me as bedtime stories and started buying me my own as soon as I could read and showed my own interest in them.”

Ignis was resting his chin on his knuckles as he thought how lucky you were. “It sounds like you had quite the close knit family to encourage you along at such a young age.” He tried not to let his feelings show, but his words came out a bit morose.

“How about you?” you questioned back. “What about your parents? I’m sure they must be insanely proud of you.”

He should have seen that the conversation would turn into a reciprocation of topic, but it caught him off guard. He really didn’t talk much about the subject, those close to him already knowing his backstory.

Thankfully the waiter came with the wine and appetizer and broke the ice a bit for him.

“I-I actually don’t know my parents.” He nibbled the breading on one of the calamari rings as he debated how much to tell you. “They passed in a car accident when I was just an infant. My aunt and uncle took me in. My uncle is an attendant to King Regis and he had mentioned he wanted to enroll me in a school for gifted children. I suppose the rest is history,” he smiled, more to himself than for you. “The king offered to see to my education in exchange for my service to the prince...”

Ignis trailed off as he watched the young girl following the maître d’ to a table across the room. She looked all too familiar.

“Ah! Gladdy! Look at the fish!!” She ran to wall by their table and pressed her face to the tank.

For the love of the Six, Ignis thought to himself as he saw Gladio and his father Clarus follow close behind. It had been the youngest Amicitia, Iris, that had sparked his recognition. If it wasn’t for the fact that Gladio was at ease and not actively scoping out the room, he would have thought this was another set up.

He overheard Gladio commenting to their father, “You can dress her up, but you can’t take her out.” He put Iris in a headlock and rubbed his knuckles in her hair.

“Hey!” She yelped, getting out of his grasp. She glanced up to your table and cried out, “Iggy!”

Well, cat’s out of the bag now, he thought. He wasn’t worried about being there with you, he was worried about Gladio’s blunt nature scaring you off.

Iris eagerly ran over to your table as Clarus took his seat at theirs, nodding to Ignis. Gladio said something to him and then slowly sauntered over as well, hanging back a bit to let Iris talk first. He grinned at Ignis from behind her.

“Iris,” Ignis greeted her with a smile, finally recomposing himself. You had to meet them sometime. He supposed it was a blessing that it was sooner than later.

“Whatta you doing here? On a date?” Iris said turning to you, dancing on her heels like the thirteen year old she was. You blushed a bit and looked to Ignis for guidance since he had been leading the conversation so far.

“Yes, we are. Iris, this is y/n. Y/n, this is Iris Amicitia,” he introduced you.

“Nice to meet ya!” she said giggling. “You’re really pretty!” Ignis felt the urge to vocalize his agreement with her, but held his tongue.

“Well thank you and it’s nice to meet you too, Iris. And you’re quite the pretty little thing yourself!” You spoke comfortably to her and Iris lit up at your response with a large smile.

Clarus called out to Iris to get back to the table and start looking at the menu. She sulked, but turned to listen to his instructions. “Bye! Have fun!” she said to the two of you.

Gladio stepped up to replace Iris at the side of the table and crossed his arms. Did he just flex for her? Ignis thought.

“So, when were you planning on introducing me?” he directed the question to Ignis, but was smiling at you. He had seen Gladio in action with enough women to know his M.O. and he felt stabbed by a bit of jealousy. He knew it was just his nature, but Gladio really needed to save some women for the rest of the men in the world. Ignis fought the urge to grab him by the collar, slam him into the wall, and tell him to never look at you again. He sighed at his instinctual response. Hormones could be one emotional ride.

Finally Ignis pushed his thoughts aside and introduced you two in a tone of friendly sarcasm, “Gladiolus, this is y/n. Y/n this is Gladiolus Amicitia. He can be a bit of a brute sometimes, so don’t mind him.”

Gladiolus turned to you, “And don’t mind Ignis, he can have a stick up his ass some days.” Ignis looked up to Gladio, pushing his glasses up with his middle finger. This finally caused both of them to erupt into laughter.

“You can just call me Gladio,” he added when the laughter finally died down.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, too.” You smiled at Gladio. Ignis felt the vague urge to punch him in the face surface again. He could get any other woman he wanted, but he needed to leave you alone.

“I better let you two lovebirds get back to swooning over each other.” He looked over his shoulder to their table. “Iris looks like she is going to sever dad’s last nerve over ordering anyhow. Catch ya later.”

As he walked away, Ignis left out a quiet breath he didn’t even realize he was holding and took a long sip of his wine. “So, who are they, exactly?” you asked once Gladio was out of earshot.

Ignis had assumed you had at least known who Clarus was seeing your job at the Citadel. He wasn’t the most public or photogenic person, so perhaps you had never seen him before. “The male Amicitia line has served as the kings’ shield for generations. Clarus is shield to King Regis and Gladio is shield to Noct,” he replied.

“Oh!” You did seem a bit surprised at yourself. Ignis noted that you seemed to be in deep thought as you helped yourself to the calamari that you thankfully seemed to be enjoying. After a few moments, though, you seemed to have shook off whatever was on your mind and struck up conversation again.

You spoke more comfortably with each other through the rest of dinner, chatting about small things in each other’s lives. You touched on going to the university and mused how the two of you had never crossed paths there. You both admitted to each other that you probably would have been together a lot sooner if you had.

After the two of you finished dinner, you both ordered some coffee and decided to share a piece of cheesecake. The Amicitias stopped by your table to say goodbye on their way out. Clarus smiled at Ignis and gave you a nod. Ignis noticed how you seemed to stiffen up at his presence.

All too soon, the two of you decided it would be best to call it a night. Ignis cleared up the check and tipped the waiter. He escorted you back to the car taking your hand once again.

The car ride back was quiet, but pleasantly so. Ignis had settled on a classic rock station that played lowly in the background, providing enough distraction to make speaking unnecessary. He took the exit off the highway to your apartment and took the necessary turns to pull into the roundabout in front of the building. He put the car in park and turned to you. He was sad to see the evening over already.

“I truly look forward to spending time with you. I really enjoyed tonight.” He read your face trying to gauge your reaction.

Your face softened as you held his gaze. “I really like being with you, too.” He watched as you tried to form some more words, but failed. He wasn’t quite expecting what happened next.

He froze as you leaned towards him. He didn’t even have a moment to form a thought by the time you placed your hand on his cheek and pressed your lips to his. When you started to pull back, he realized he still hadn’t had a chance to fully react. He didn’t want the kiss to end so suddenly, as well as passively on his end. He put his hand over yours on his cheek to keep you from moving away more and pressed back into the kiss. He parted his lips to take in your bottom one. Finally, you both moved back. He could taste you on his lips as he quickly pushed his tongue out to confirm that the kiss had really happened. He caught his breath and smiled at you. He knew his cheeks were as flushed as yours, but he didn’t care.

“Goodnight, Ignis,” you finally said moving to open the car door.

“Goodnight y/n,” he answered, head still swimming from the kiss.

He waited for you to disappear from sight before pulling out to head back to his own apartment. As he drove down the highway he noticed more than usual how brilliant the city looked at night. He thanked whatever Astrals still listened to the pleas of man for giving him a life as blessed as his


	9. The Solace in Each Other Part 1

The beginning of the new year found you back at your parents’ house on the other side of Insomnia. Your father had mysteriously taken ill a few weeks prior. The small car shop he worked for had graciously told him to take whatever time off he needed to go to doctor appointments and get testing done. Your mother had been starting to get overwhelmed with not only emotion, but the stress of trying to work and take him to where he needed to go. You had enough vacation time saved up to take a week off of work and gladly offered to stay with them to help out. You were going to take him for a few tests on Monday and keep him company the rest of the week while you all anxiously awaited the results.

The house was pretty much unchanged from when you had moved out the prior summer. The only exception was your old bedroom that they had turned into a library-craft-storage room. You joked with them that the only reason the agreed to let you move out on your own was so they remodel your bedroom.

The other thing that definitely remained the same was your father. Despite not feeling well, the first thing he did Monday morning after your mother left for work was to go out to the driveway and pop the hood to your car.

“Dad, please come back inside,” you said from the front door as he hunched over the inner workings of the thing.

“I can’t believe your mother and I let you go out into the world in this death trap,” he shook his head as he tinkered around with a couple of wires. You walked out beside him and looked helplessly at parts you had the slightest idea about. His love of mechanics was one thing that had never rubbed off on you.

“Hey, now! It’s not that bad!” you frowned. Your dad looked at you with a raised eyebrow. “Okay, So maybe it is,” you admitted with a shrug. “I’ve been taking the subway to work most days, anyhow. It’s less stressful than rush hour traffic,” you sighed. And Ignis gave you rides most other places. Despite it’s unreliability, you couldn’t completely hate your car. It was part of the reason the two of you had started talking. You almost contemplated telling your dad that story, but decided you still weren’t quite ready to talk about boyfriends to him yet this week. Your mom had talked it out of you over coffee the night before and you made her promise not to bring it up to him just yet.

He closed the hood and put his arm around you as you walked back inside. “You’ve grown up so fast,” he said. “One day we’re laying on the living room floor reading comics together and the next you are living your own life on the other side of the city from us.” His voice seemed to have a bit of sadness to it. You started to think that perhaps he knew more than he was letting on about what was wrong with him. He was not one to get so serious.

You tried to lighten up the mood and elbowed him teasingly. “Hey, just cause I’m almost 20 doesn’t mean we can’t read comics together anymore!”

He smiled. “You’re right. I’ll be right back.” He headed down the hall to your old bedroom and came back with a musty smelling box.

“No way!” you cried out. It was his comics he had when you were first learning to read. These were what started your love for the genre. The two of you spread them out on the floor and flipped through them, reminiscing.

“I didn’t know you still had these,” you mused.

“Your mother and I found them when we were cleaning out the closets one day,” he said, stopping to show you an especially good issue.

As you continued reading through them, your phone buzzed on the floor by your side. It was Ignis.

 **Ignis:** Hope all’s well. I thought I’d check in with you while I have a break.

The two of you had tried to go out to dinner again twice, but Ignis had to cancel both times. Once he was stuck in a deadlocked meeting over the public relations budget, during which he sent you a text that was simply a string of emojis consisting of a sword, a gun, a pickaxe, and a weary face. You had laughed out loud at his message, despite the bit of disappointment you felt at not being able going out that night. The other time, Noct had apparently forgotten to prepare for a big history exam the next day and needed emergency tutoring. You had volunteered to help seeing your expertise on the subject, but Ignis kindly declined telling you he wouldn’t wish the job on his worst enemy.

He was the one who seemed most upset over canceling the dates, despite you telling him not to worry. You knew what you were getting into with him when you agreed to start dating. You recalled that his hesitation at the relationship had revolved around not being able to always be present and realized that was what probably had him upset.

 **Y/n:** Good so far. Dad and I are reading up on some old comics together : - ) We should hear some news on his tests by the end of the week.

When you looked back up from your phone, your dad was smiling at you. “When were you planning on telling me about him?”

“What? Oh, him. Well, um, he’s just a friend from work,” you stuttered out. Your dad had always picked apart your friends and boyfriends when he first met them. Now that you were older you understood that he didn’t do it to spite you, he only did it out of instinct to protect you. You didn’t want to have him worry about something else this week. You could always tell him about Ignis another time.

“You mother told me about him after you went to bed last night,” he admitted. “You should know that she can never keep a secret.”

Well, so much for not telling him, you thought. Despite your initial hesitation, you eagerly started to talk about how you met him while working at the Citadel. You gushed over how handsome, kind, intelligent, and strong he was. Your dad finally asked the question you had been skirting around..

“What does he do?” he asked casually as he pulled more comics out of the box. Where others might jump to throw his title and position around as a trophy, you held back. He served his position in life well, but to you he was so much more than that.

“He’s one of the prince’s retainers, his advisor,” you answered sheepishly.

He looked up to you about to start laughing at what he thought was your sarcastic side when he noticed your serious look. “Oh, shit, honey. You aren’t joking, are you?” You shook your head.

He hummed. “He’s the one they always show on the news or in the paper at the prince’s side?”

“Well, sometimes,” you answered. “It’s not the big guy with the tattoo. That’s Gladio, his shield. Ignis isn’t as tall and has lighter hair.”

You dad seemed a bit dumbstruck. “I think I’ve seen him.” He paused and then looked at you perplexed. “So, wait. You know the prince’s shield, too?”

You let out a small laugh. “A little bit.”

“Well, anyhow,” your dad straightened up. “Just because he’s part of the royal court doesn’t mean he gets a free pass to go breaking your heart. I’ll go after him just as soon as any other boy if he does.” You knew this part was coming, and you rolled your eyes.

“I assure you it would take a lot from him to do that to me,” you smiled at him. “Besides, I know you got my back so I have nothing to worry about, right?”

The two of you spent the remainder of the day reading through the rest of the comics and bonding over fond memories of your childhood.

                    _________________

Two days later the phone call came in. Your father had answered the phone before you could offer take the call for him. You stood beside him watching his expressions as he agreed along with whatever they were saying on the other end and then thanked them before hanging up. His face was unreadable as he turned to you. “It’s cancer,” he said.

You closed your eyes, “Dad...” your voice shook. You embraced him and he broke down into sobs on your shoulder. “Did you suspect this already? Why didn’t you or mom tell me sooner?!”

He pulled back and wiped his eyes on his arm. “We didn’t want to worry you with something we weren’t even sure about yet.”

“Well, I guess that’s not what’s important right now,” you said to him. “The only thing there is to do is fight this, right? What did you always tell me when I was little?” you asked him. “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” His voice echoed over yours at the end. You hugged him tight again.

You spent the rest of the week enjoying your parents’ company, even more so with the new perspective given to you this week. Life was precious and nothing was guaranteed to anyone.

As Saturday came you hated to leave, but you needed a day to yourself before returning to work. You were sure that Hallie was sick of feeding your cats by now as much as they were sick of her. They weren’t exactly fond of strangers. You also missed Ignis terribly, even though he texted you often throughout the week. You had only answered him that the tests weren’t back yet when he asked. It wasn’t the type of thing you thought was appropriate to tell someone about through a text.

Your parents promised to keep you updated on the treatment plan over the next few weeks and to let you know if anything got worse. You got in your car and started the drive back across the city to your apartment.

                    _________________

Early the next morning, you received a text from Ignis asking if you were free that day. For a change, he had a day off with no foreseeable interruptions. You hadn’t slept well that night, awakening early and unable to fall back into a sound sleep. You were also looking forward to catching up on your chores, but of course, time with Ignis was going to win out over any of that.

You answered him back agreeing to go out to a movie that afternoon. There was an action movie about a spy that had just come out that the two of you had been interested in seeing. It also didn’t hurt that the lead actor was incredibly handsome as well, you thought.

He swung by to pick you up around 1 p.m. and headed towards the theater. As he drove, the two of you caught each other up on your past week. You weren’t ready to tell Ignis the truth about your father. You were still processing it yourself and didn’t want to burden him with any tears you were sure to shed the minute you opened up about it.

The two of you made your way into the theater, picking up some overpriced popcorn and soda before making your way to your seats.

Part way through the movie, Ignis shifted to stretch a bit and put his arm across the back of your seat. Did he really just pull the most cliche move ever? you thought as you laughed to yourself. You looked over to him with a smirk and pulled his arm down across your shoulders and leaned over into him.

After the movie, the two of you popped into a small café next door. As you sipped your drinks, you recalled the good parts of the movie, while picking apart the discrepancies. During the course of the film, the main character’s wife passes without much of a story as to why. You both felt it should have had a better explanation since it was a bigger part of the plot. Talking about it made you realize how much of a chord it had struck with you, having just learned about your father’s diagnosis.

You suddenly felt as if you had to get it off your chest. “My dad has cancer,” you blurted out.

Ignis stilled and looked to you with concern. “Oh, y/n. I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you tell me about it yet?”

“I thought about it, but I didn’t want to ruin today.” You were trying so hard not to cry, but the tears started to come anyway. “I figured I’d tell you some day this week. I just didn’t want to end up like this today,” you wiped at your eyes and your nose trying to compose yourself. You hated crying in front of people, let alone out in public. Ignis sensed your unease immediately.

“Come on, let’s go somewhere else,” he suggested.

You looked up into his eyes. “Can we just go back to my place?”

“Certainly,” he nodded as he helped you from your chair with an arm.

The ride back to your apartment was quiet. You showed him where to park in the garage nearby. Every resident had two spaces reserved. He backed in beside your car.

A bit of nerves started to overcome you as you realized you had actually invited him into your apartment. You were so emotional at the café that you hadn’t really thought much about it.

You made your way up to your floor and opened the door to your place, only to be greeted by two hungry cats. As the two of you made your way inside, they rubbed along Ignis’s legs. They typically were wary of people they didn’t know, so you were a little surprised.

“They must really like you,” you said. “By the way, the white one is Kupo and the orange one is Kweh.”

Ignis chuckled as he reached down to scratch Kupo’s head. “Well aren’t those clever names.”

He followed you out to your kitchen as you filled up their food bowls. It was an hour earlier than you usually fed them, but you weren’t about to listen to their desperate pleas of starvation until then.

You turned back to Ignis and he pulled you into an embrace. “I’m so scared,” you admitted, breaking down again. You couldn’t control your tears any longer and they wet his shirt as he pressed you to his shoulder.

He spoke to you as he held you and rubbed your back. “It is amazing what they can do with medicine and magic nowadays. I’m sure he is in good hands.” He paused for a moment. “I don’t blame you for being scared, though.”

He kissed your forehead and drew you back against him. “I’m sorry that I can’t always be there for you.”

“What are you talking about?” You pulled back to look into his eyes.

“What I told you I’ve been afraid of all along. My duties. What if I can’t be here for you like this when you really need me? You’ve already seen I can’t keep my commitments to go on dates with you.” His face was drawn up in concern. You had guessed correctly at what seemed to be bothering him.

“We already talked about this,” you softened. “I knew what I was getting myself into with you. You might not always be able to be with me, but I know you are just a text or a call away. Just knowing I have you is all I need. And besides, fancy dates are overrated,” you pulled on his shirt collar. “Don’t get me wrong - I love them, but this is the stuff that really matters, the little things. I think we need to quit trying to ‘schedule’ dates with each other and start trying to take advantage of the smaller times we can be together.”

“I think you’re right,” he admitted. “Although, I do like my schedules.” You rolled your eyes at him with a laugh. As an afterthought he excitedly added, “I can cook dinner for you sometime!”

“That’s what I’m talking about,” you laughed. “I’d really love that.”

The two of you stared at each other for a moment before he brought his lips to yours in a timid kiss. You backed up to rest against the kitchen counter for support. He started to pull away as you did, but you moved him back into another kiss. Your mouths were slightly parted as you continued and you felt him tentatively swipe his tongue out across your bottom lip. You responded back with the same, your tongues meeting with the next kiss. You both drew in a small gasp at the contact. Suddenly, his tongue was eagerly pushing into your mouth as you granted it access to wrestle back with you own. The flutters in your stomach were slowly drifting downward. You both pulled back from the last kiss somewhat breathless as you smiled at each other.

A meow brought your attention down to Kupo staring up at the two of you with her head to the side. “Get out of here you little moogle!” you playfully shooed her. “How about another cup of coffee?” you suggested as you looked back up to Ignis.

“That sounds good to me,” he smiled back.

                    _________________

Life seemed to settle back into its routine over the next few weeks. Ignis and you stood true to your discussion and stole moments of each other’s time, as well as kisses, when you were able to. Your father started his treatment and the doctors were optimistic about his prognosis.

Ignis’s birthday was coming up the next weekend and you were trying to think of something fun you could do for him. You had already bought him a couple of cookbooks and a gift certificate for a kitchen supply store. Thankfully, as you were leaving work that evening, the ‘something fun’ part fell into place for you.

Gladio was leaning against the wall down the hall from the tour office. “Hey y/n! Wanted to catch you before you left.” So Ignis must have talked to him about you if he knew that you worked here, you thought. He was really looking you over, bordering on checking you out. You supposed it was because this was the first time you were really talking to each other outside of your first introduction.

“What’s up?” you asked, craning your head to look up at him. You wondered what they fed him as a child to make him get this big.

“So Iggy’s birthday is next Saturday and Noct, Prom, and I reserved a little room at The Noodle Bowl restaurant. Thought it’d be nice if you came too,” he offered.

“Sure, I’d love to!” you answered back. “Is there anything I can do to pitch in?”

“Naw, we got it covered. Just don’t say anything to him. We’re trying to make it a surprise.” He paused. “You’ve met Prompto, right?”

You laughed. “Sure have.”

“Well, that’s the trying part.” He rolled his eyes. “Anyhow, it’s at 5 p.m., I’ll see ya round!” he said raising an arm to wave as he walked off.

                    _________________

A few evenings later, you decided to get off the subway at the mall to grab dinner and look around a little. You window shopped past a jewelry store and backed up when a necklace caught your eye. It was a small silver skull that made you immediately think of Ignis. He actually owned quite a bit of clothing with subtle skull accents on them, partly due to his position in the Crownsguard. You hesitated, wondering if he would even wear it. The only jewelry you had ever seen him wear was a watch. You decided to take a chance and went into the store to buy it.

                    _________________

The morning of February 7th, you sent Ignis a text

 **Y/n:** Happy birthday you old man.

 **Ignis:** Thank you : - ) I hardly think 21 constitutes old age though.

 **Y/n:** Well, you’ll always be older than me, so...

 **Ignis:** Lol. Point taken. My apologies again for not being able to do anything tonight. Noct has now decided that not only do I have to entertain him and Prompto with snacks tonight, but I have to meet them for dinner beforehand.

 **Y/n:** That sounds painful (⊙_◎)

You smiled to yourself that the cover had not been blown. Either they kept Prompto away from him or he had been able to control himself and not slip about the surprise.

                    _________________

You took the subway a few stops from your apartment and made your way back up to street level. The noodle restaurant was a few blocks down and your stomach growled remembering the delicious food they served there. You walked in and the server showed you to a small private room in the back. Gladio had brought Noct and Prompto and they were all sitting at a table chatting away. You stepped awkwardly into the room with a small wave. You still couldn’t help but be nervous in front of Noct no matter how hard you tried to convince yourself earlier not to be.

“Hey, y/n!” he spoke to you first. “Glad you came.”

“Sure thing. Thanks for inviting me,” you said taking a seat. “And I guess I should thank you for setting me and Ignis up while I’m at it,” you added as an afterthought.

Noct laughed. “We couldn’t take it anymore,” he nudged Prompto. “It was time for an intervention.” You blushed and joined in laughing with them. Gladio just shook his head and murmured something about amateurs.

As you waited for Ignis to show up, you all fell into easy conversation about a new video game that was coming out next month. Your nerves settled as you realized how down to earth everyone really was, especially Noct.

A few minutes later, you all quieted down as you heard steps approach the room. Ignis stepped in to everyone yelling ‘Happy Birthday’ to him.

“Oh, goodness!” He exclaimed, scanning the room. His face registered a little more shock when he saw you sitting there, but softened when you gave him a big smile. “This really wasn’t necessary.”

“Course it is, Iggy. For how much you do for everyone, you deserve someone to do something for you once in a while,” Noct said. “Besides, do you really think I’m that much of a dick to make you cater to me on your birthday?”

“Now there’s a loaded question if I ever heard one,” Gladio quipped drawing laughter from everyone but Noct, who feigned being offended.

Ignis took a seat beside you. “Well, thank you all. This is too kind.”

As you waited for your meals to come, you continued to talk some more amongst yourselves. Ignis seemed a bit uptight at first. You hoped it wasn’t from your presence, but assumed it was. He seemed to relax, though, once you got into a deeper conversation with Noct about where you grew up and went to school.

Noct laughed. “No wonder you two hit it off so well, you’re both brainiacs that make average students like us have to work that much harder.”

“I _hardly_ consider some of your studying habits that much of an effort,” Ignis jokingly threw in.

“What is this, pick on the prince day? I think of someone else for a change and this is the thanks I get!” Noct sulked for a few seconds before being unable to fake it any longer and broke down laughing.

Everyone finished up their meals and Prompto moved to bring the cake over to the table. Everyone cringed and held their breath, but it made it to the table intact. “What, I’m not that clumsy!” he defended himself.

“Sure...whatever you say,” Noct teased.

The four of you sang ‘Happy Birthday’ after the candles were lit. Ignis blew them all out in one breath.

“What’d ya wish for?” Prompto asked him and his eyes instinctively went to yours. That incited whistles and catcalls from the others as you and Ignis blushed.

“Hey now!” Ignis said. “Your wish doesn’t come true if you say it out loud.”

Gladio went to open his mouth to add another comment and Ignis held his hand up. “Don’t even go there, Gladio. No one wants to know what your debauched mind just thought up.”

Gladio snapped his mouth back closed with a grin as Noct announced it was time to give Ignis his presents. Prompto made sure everyone had a piece of cake to enjoy while he started opening them up.

Noct and Prompto had gone together to get him a gift card for an upscale clothing shop that he frequented and Gladio got him a a few bottles of top shelf wine and what seemed to be a years supply of whole bean Ebony. You gave him your presents last, but left the box with the necklace in your purse. You weren’t sure if you wanted to give that one to him in front of all his friends.

“Thank you again, everyone. I still think you went to too much trouble, but it was nice to get out together,” he said after everything was opened.

The waiter came in to start clearing off the table and left the check as a hint that the time allotted for the room was just about up. Gladio took care of the bill as everyone gathered their things and helped Ignis to his car with his gifts.

Gladio was escorting Noct and Prompto home, so you all said your goodbyes as they got into his car.

Ignis stood at his driver’s side and looked to you expectantly. “Are you getting in?” You hesitated for a moment. You hadn’t really thought about doing anything else tonight. “You didn’t think you were taking the subway back did you?”

“I didn’t want to trouble you this evening,” you said.

Ignis chuckled, “Don’t be ridiculous.”

You laughed back and made your way to the passenger side and climbed in. On the short drive back to your place you suggested he come in for a bit since it was still relatively early for a Saturday. He eagerly agreed. Secretly you thought about how still had to give him his other gift, anyhow.

He parked in the spot you had showed him the other day. As he got out, he grabbed one of the bottles of wine that Gladio had given him from the backseat.

“Might as well enjoy this tonight,” he said holding the bottle up to you.

You gave him a sly smile. “Sounds good to me!” The thought of you and Ignis sharing wine, alone together in your apartment made your heart speed up.

The two of you made your way up to your place. You told Ignis to make himself comfortable as you went into the kitchen to get two glasses and a corkscrew. You returned to the couch where Ignis sat and he took the honors of opening the wine and pouring you each a glass. Quite a large glass, you noted with some amusement.

You both sipped on your wine as he spoke. “Thank you for coming tonight. It meant a lot to see you with everyone. I’m glad you were getting on with them so well.”

“You have a great group of friends. You’re the one that made it easy for me.” you smiled back. You suddenly remembered his other gift again. “Oh, by the way, I have something else for you tonight.”

You brought the small wrapped box back over to him. “I wasn’t sure about giving this to you in front of everyone else.” You were blushing

He sat his wine down and took the box from you. “You didn’t need to buy me so much,” he said as he started to peel the paper off.

“I know,” you smiled. “I couldn’t help but think of you when I saw this, though.”

He opened the box up and fingered the tiny skull with an unreadable expression on his face. He finally looked up to you with a big smile. “I absolutely love it!” He pulled it out of the box and put it on his neck. It rested just inside the opened top button of his shirt in the dip between his collarbones.

“Thank you,” he said as he shifted closer. You sat your wine down as well and he moved in to kiss you. Having had some practice under your belts, your kisses tonight felt more natural and you eagerly slipped into each other’s mouths. He tasted like the wine you were drinking and you pushed your tongue back harder to taste more of him.

It was awkward sitting side by side, so you swung your legs up on the couch to turn to face him. You moved your hands up to his shoulders and pulled him into a deeper kiss. Your hands started to trail tentatively over each other. He slowly guided you to straddle his lap and you moved onto him without hesitation. You sat back to look at him.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t...” he started to apologize, but you interrupted him.

With a chuckle you took his glasses off and sat them aside. “Shut up and kiss me.” You didn’t give him time to form an response and crushed your lips back to his. You could tell something sparked inside of him. His hands were back on you now, with less hesitation than before. He let them slide down to cup your buttocks and back up to graze the sides of your breasts. You undid the top few buttons of his shirt and moved your hands over his bare chest underneath. You were shocked at the firmness of his muscles. You remembered your fantasy of taking him on the chair, the two of you still mostly clothed, and your sex started to burn with arousal. He parted his lips from yours to run kisses down your neck as your breath became ragged.

Ignis finally stilled his hands and moved back to your lips for a few more smaller kisses. “Perhaps we should stop,” he suggested kissing your cheek.

You sighed. “Yeah, maybe we better.” You honestly were lying, but he was right. You could see now how people with no willpower could end up in precarious situations.

You moved back off of him and you both readjusted your shirts. You noticed he also squirmed a bit and adjusted his pants. You blushed at the thought of what that most likely meant. To know you did that to him was thrilling.

The two of you finished off the bottle of wine and continued talking late into the evening. The two of you ended up on the topic of Halloween costumes from your youth. He joked about the time Noct and he went as chocobos. You one-upped him with your cactuar costume that you couldn’t even move in. You imitated their ridiculous pose while pretending to be your crying five year old self. The two of you laughed so hard your sides hurt. As he realized it was almost midnight, he reluctantly announced that he should probably be going. You walked him over to the door. As he parted, he drew you into a lingering kiss, tilting your chin up with his long fingers. You watched him go down the hall and waved to him as he got on the elevator.

You shut your door and leaned against it with a sigh. You wanted to relive every kiss and touch from tonight. A sharp meow interrupted your reveries. Choco sat there with a toy at his feet waiting for you to play with him. You sighed and picked it up, playfully tossing it into the living room. “I love you Ignis Scientia,” you murmured to yourself.


	10. The Solace in Each Other Part 2

Ignis sighed as Noct, for the umpteenth time this evening, was texting away on his phone instead of focusing on his history book in front of him. He swore he had the attention span of a squirrel.

“Do I have to hide your phone from you, or are you going to take this exam seriously?” Ignis was a little short on patience tonight. He had to cancel his second date in a row with you and the least the prince could do was appreciate his time.

“Yeah, yeah,” Noct dismissed him with a wave. “What bit your ass today, anyhow?”

With that comment, Ignis reeled himself back in. He was perhaps being too harsh. Noct was always first and he knew that. He was unfairly taking out his own personal feelings on him. This was exactly what he was so afraid of happening if he ever got close to you.

You had offered to help with tutoring Noct tonight, but Ignis didn’t find it fair to drag you into the sullenness that could consume Noct when it came to his schooling. On second thought, maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad after all, he thought. You would have at least been enough of a distraction to keep him off his phone. Perhaps next time he would take you up on the offer.

                    _________________

At lunch the one Friday you told him that you were going to take the next week off the spend with your family. You had mentioned over the last few days that your father hadn’t been feeling well. Ignis hoped it was nothing serious. He selfishly felt a bit disappointed that you would be on the other side of the city for a week, but he promised to text you often.

One day when he had a much needed break, he pulled his phone out to send you a quick message to see how things were. You mentioned you were reading some comics with your father. Ignis warmed at the idea of the bond you must share with him.

He thought back to his own lack of a solid father figure, not to mention a mother as well, as he had grown up. Sure, there were prominent men in his life, King Regis and Cor being the most notable, but they were far from being fathers to him. He was raised along side Noct by a team of nannies, tutors, and later tacticians, weapons experts, and politicians. He was to be the prince’s advisor and retainer, and most importantly a trusted friend and brother.

Sometimes, though, Ignis was the one that fell all to easily into a father role himself with Noct. He felt that he always needed to be his word of guidance, his word of wisdom and encouragement. As young children, it was Ignis’s bed Noct would run to when he had nightmares, curling his smaller body into Ignis’s as he soothed him back to sleep. It was Ignis who Noct would confide his secrets and insecurities to without fear of rejection.

Ignis was always the one by Noct’s side when he snuck around to places he shouldn’t be. He always had a story prepared that would get Noct off the hook, even if he had to take the blame himself. He couldn’t fathom anything ever happening to him under his watch, including him getting in trouble with his father.

Ignis reminisced about the earliest times he accompanied Noct around on his exasperating adventures. They were more innocent treks into the kitchen to sneak snacks and sweets between meals, or to sneak into the throne room when it was unattended to play on the steps. After Noct’s injury, though, they seemed to become more of a silent attempt to escape the Citadel and get a reprieve from his own destiny.

When Noct had returned from that fateful stay in Tenebrae, he was almost an entirely different child. Ignis felt it was his duty to get Noct to reopen, at the very least to him. If it meant accompanying him on these more dangerous and forbidden ventures outside the Citadel to the arcade or park, then he was there by his side. Despite chastising him during most of these outings, Ignis secretly enjoyed them just as much as Noct.

They slowly developed a bond that was stronger than that of brothers, stronger than that of a father and child. It was one of full trust without having to say the words, one of platonic love that need not be spoken of aloud to know it existed.

Noct’s teen years had pushed the limits of this bond, but deep down Ignis knew that it was still there, just as strong as ever. He had to let him test his own boundaries were he ever to fulfill his true calling in life and one day take the throne himself.

These thoughts brought him back full circle to you. He was afraid that no matter how much he loved you and how far your relationship developed, that it would end only in disappointment. You seemed to full well understand this when you admitted your mutual feelings for each other, but it was still hard for Ignis to put this apprehension completely aside. Perhaps it was more fear of having to choose between the two of you one day? He pushed that selfish thought from his mind and looked at his watch.

He had enough time to run out and grab a quick lunch. He locked up his office and headed to the elevator. As the doors opened, he saw that Clarus was already inside on his way down as well. “Good day, Mr. Amicitia,” Ignis greeted him.

“Ignis,” Clarus nodded in response.

The doors closed and there was a bit of awkward silence for a moment. Ignis thought of how long an elevator ride down from the tops floors during the lunch hour could take and thought about getting off on the next floor. He could probably make due with whatever snacks he could scrounge out of his desk.

Clarus spoke again and Ignis realized his escape plot was probably a bit extreme. “It was nice to see you out on a date for a change. She seems like quite the lovely lady. I believe I’ve seen her around?”

“Ah, yes. Y/n works in the tours department,” Ignis responded.

“Have you known her very long?” Clarus continued to make small talk.

“A few months. We talked a lot at first before we started dating. I had a lot of hesitations about getting into a relationship with someone without getting to know them a little better first,” Ignis felt as though he had to explain himself to Clarus and it was making him a bit uncomfortable.

To Ignis’s surprise, Clarus put his head back in laughter. “Maybe you need to hang out with Gladio more often. Rub off on him some. That boy has been through more ‘girlfriends’ in the last year than I can count on one hand.” Clarus stifled his laughter and became more serious again. “Really, though, Ignis. I’m glad to see you dating someone. None of your lives have been much of your own choosing up to this point. Any grasp on a life outside of this is a welcome thing. It grounds you. If she is deserving of your love then give it to her with all of your heart.”

The elevator stopped a few floors before the lobby and Clarus got off. “Take care, Ignis.”

“You as well, sir.” Ignis felt that he should have found guidance in that conversation, but it only served to swirl the thoughts around in his head more. He thought about Gladio’s mother, who had passed several years earlier. He remembered how happy she and Clarus always seemed to be when he saw them together. Clarus was able to have a life of his own, with a woman he loved and their children to boot, and still remain steadfast in his duties to the king. It gave Ignis a confidence that things would work themselves out between the two of you.

                    _________________

He received a text from you when you returned home on Saturday telling him that you didn’t know much more about your father’s illness than before. He was busy running errands with Noct, so didn’t have time to ask to much more. He was hoping to get all his obligations out of the way today so he could have tomorrow off.

Luck was on his side as he finished the last of the week’s cooking for the prince around 10 p.m.. He finished stocking his refrigerator and headed home. Not wanting to chance waking you at this late hour, he decided to hold off until morning to see if you were free to catch a movie. He couldn’t wait to see your smile and hear your voice again. He needed to be with you to affirm his feelings and quell his doubts.

He awoke early the next morning and texted you as he drank his coffee and read the paper. You agreed for him to pick you up around 1 p.m. to go to the movie.

He was punctual as usual picking you up. As he saw you walk to his car his heart fluttered a bit. As the two of you made your way across town, you caught each other up on the week you had missed. You seemed to not want to dwell on your father that much, Ignis thought, so he didn’t push the subject. Not knowing what was wrong was probably weighing you down, he thought.

You made your way into the theater, buying some popcorn and a soda to share. The movie was an espionage action film that Ignis was a little surprised you’d be interested in. It was probably the lead actor, he chuckled in his mind. He was supposed to be one of the most eligible bachelors in Insomnia.

Part way through the movie after an intense scene, Ignis realized how stiff he was from sitting in the same position for the last half hour. He stretched a bit and then thought how he could use this to his advantage. He stretched his arm across the back of your seat only to get a smirk back from you in response. He realized then just how trite a move that was. You pulled his arm down on your shoulders and leaned over into his chest. He was certain you were going to hear his heart beating faster than it should have been.

After the movie, the two of you stopped at a small café next door. Over your drinks, you both analyzed the movie inside and out. You had just discussed the need for a better explanation of the main character’s wife’s death when he noticed you became suddenly quiet.

“My dad has cancer,” you finally blurted out.

“Oh, y/n. I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you tell me about it yet?” It bothered him a bit that you hadn’t confided this to him sooner.

“I thought about it, but I didn’t want to ruin today.” You looked as though you were fighting a war with your tears, but they finally won and started rolling down your cheeks. “I figured I’d tell you some day this week. I just didn’t want to end up like this today.” You tried to wipe your tears away and glanced around the café. Ignis could tell you were no longer comfortable being in public.

“Come on, let’s go somewhere else,” he suggested.

You looked at him with a bit of relief and asked, “Can we just go back to my place?”

“Certainly,” he answered. It would be better to talk about this in the privacy of your apartment anyhow.

The ride back was quiet. He had given you some tissues from the glove box and you had finally all but dried your tears away. You directed him to the parking garage used for your residence and had him park in the extra spot allotted to you. He was anxious to finally see your place, just not under these circumstances.

The two of you made your way up to your apartment and he followed you inside as you shut and locked the door behind you. Two cats greeted you at the door with demanding meows. They looked at Ignis with indignation, but then the white one rubbed a figure eight around his legs.

“They must really like you,” you said to him, surprised. He had always favored cats over dogs. It was something about their stand-offish and calculating personalities he could relate to. Dogs were just to free with their love. If a cat liked you it was usually based on judgement and not just the premise of another hand to pet and feed them. You added, “The white one is Kupo and the orange one is Kweh, by the way.”

“Well aren’t those clever names.” He reached down to scratch Kupo’s head as he chuckled.

He tagged along out to the kitchen with you as you filled up their food bowls to abate their desperate pleas to save them from their imminent starvation. You still had a look that you might burst into tears again at any moment.

As you turned around, he moved to embrace you, pulling you close into his chest. You let out a muffled sob into him and said, “I’m so scared.” Your tears came readily now and Ignis could feel their warmth as they dampened his shirt. He would do anything right now, he thought, to take this pain away from you.

He rubbed your back to try to soothe you and spoke. “It is amazing what they can do with medicine and magic nowadays. I’m sure he is in good hands.” He wanted to reassure you, he but didn’t want you to feel that he was dismissing your concerns. “I don’t blame you for being scared though.”

He thought again about why you hesitated in telling him the news. You didn’t want to ruin today? If he had more time to give you, perhaps you wouldn’t have to feel this way. His insecurities made his heart clench.  
“I’m sorry that I can’t always be there for you.”

“What are you talking about?” You pulled back to look him in the eyes.

“What I told you I’ve been afraid of all along. My duties. What if I can’t be here for you like this when you really need me? You’ve already seen I can’t keep my dates with you.” It came out more exasperated than he intended.

“We already talked about this. I knew what I was getting myself into with you. You might not always be able to be with me, but I know you are just a text or a call away. Just knowing I have you is all I need. And besides, fancy dates are overrated,” you pulled on his shirt collar as you paused in consideration. “Don’t get me wrong - I love them, but this is the stuff that really matters, the little things. I think we need to quit trying to ‘schedule’ dates with each other and start trying to take advantage of smaller times we can be together.”

You had a very valid point, he thought. Perhaps he was being too critical of himself and had overthought things. “I think you’re right,” he finally admitted. “Although, I do like my schedules.” You rolled your eyes at him with a laugh. Your suggestion gave him a marvelous idea. “I can cook dinner for you sometime!”

“That’s what I’m talking about,” you laughed. “I’d really love that.”

Your laugh was cathartic to him. He looked into your eyes and thought about how much he had truly fallen in love with you. He moved to you and pressed his lips tentatively to yours. You backed up, and for a moment he thought you were pulling away. He quickly noticed, however, that you were just moving to lean against the counter and then your lips were back on his. As you continued kissing, your mouths drifted open taking each other’s lips into your own. He quickly ran his tongue across your bottom lip to test your reaction. Your reply was immediate, this time your tongues meeting together. You both gasped a little at the contact, but that was all he needed as reassurance from you. He pushed his tongue into your mouth and met no resistance, your own wrestling his back for control. The two of you pulled back for breath and smiled at each other, cheeks thoroughly flushed.

A meow cried out from beside the two of you. Kupo was sitting there staring up at him, head to the side in confusion. “Get out of here you little moogle!” you playfully shooed her away. “How about another round of coffee?” you suggested.

“That sounds good to me,” he answered. I’d rather have another round of you, he secretly thought to himself.

                    _________________

Everything settled back into a routine over the next few weeks. Ignis and you stole moments of each other’s time as well as more kisses from each other whenever possible. Not stressing over preplanning every date really did bring the relationship to a new level, he thought.

You had also found out about the treatment your father would be starting and the doctors were optimistic. Ignis was relieved to hear the good news as well.

In the week leading up to his birthday, Ignis wondered if you were planning anything for him. He thought about seeing if you wanted to go for dinner somewhere, but felt a little foolish planning his own birthday.

Noct had other ideas for him, unfortunately.

He stopped by the prince’s apartment halfway through the week to drop off some reports. “Hey, Iggy, been meaning to ask you. Prompto’s coming over Saturday. I wanted to see if you’d hang with us and cook up some of those new snacks you came up with?

“Certainly,” Ignis said hiding his disappointment. There was always another day to go out with you. He reminded himself to text you later to let you know his obligations, just in case you were planning something after all.

                    _________________

Ignis awoke the morning of the 7th to a text from you.

 **Y/n:** Happy birthday you old man.

 **Ignis:** Thank you : - ) I hardly think 21 constitutes old age though.

 **Y/n:** Well, you’ll always be older than me, so...

 **Ignis:** Lol. Point taken. My apologies again for not being able to do anything tonight. Noct has now decided that not only do I have to entertain him and Prompto with snacks tonight, but I have to meet them for dinner beforehand.

 **Y/n:** That sounds painful (⊙_◎)

Noct had messaged him last night to see if he could meet them at The Noodle Bowl around 5 p.m. after his and Prompto’s usual Saturday afternoon arcade run. It wasn’t exactly painful per your words, but Prompto coming down off of an arcade game high could be a bit grating on the nerves. Noct did offer to pay for dinner since he was making him ‘work’ on his birthday. He sighed and got out of bed to do some of his own chores before getting ready to head out this evening.

                    _________________

Ignis pulled into The Noodle Bowl’s reserved lot just before 5 p.m.. He noticed Gladio’s car was there. Noct must have invited him out as well.

As the waiter escorted him back to the small, private room in the back, Ignis heard hushes as the voices quieted down. As he stepped in he was greeted by a chorus of ‘happy birthdays’.

“Oh goodness!” he exclaimed. Being a tactician by specialty, he wasn’t overly fond of surprises, but after a quick scan of the room, he decided this wasn’t too over the top. The biggest shock was when he met your eyes. You were the last person he expected to be here, not to mention that you seemed completely at ease sitting amongst Noct and the other guys. It was perhaps the best gift he could receive today. “This really wasn’t necessary,” he added.

“Course it is, Iggy,” Noct spoke up. “For how much you do for everyone, you deserve someone to do something for you once in a while. Besides, do you really think I’m that much of a dick to make you cater to me on your birthday?”

“Now there’s a loaded question if I ever heard one,” Gladio shot back. Noct crossed his arms and feigned being insulted, drawing laughter from everyone.

Ignis pulled out the chair beside you and sat down. “Well, thank you all. This is too kind.”

After ordering your meals, everyone fell back into easy conversation with each other. Ignis felt a bit guarded at first, watching your interactions with everyone closely. It was as if you had been friends with them for years from how easy you went from topic to topic with them. He finally relaxed when you delved into a deeper conversation with Noct about where you grew up and went to school. Noct wasn’t exactly a social gem, so for him to be engaging you in small talk spoke volumes.

Noct laughed, pulling Ignis’s mind out of his thoughts and back to the topic at hand. “No wonder you two hit it off so well, you’re both brainiacs that make average students like us have to work that much harder.”

“I _hardly_ consider some of your studying habits that much of an effort.” Ignis couldn’t resist a good pun.

“What is this, pick on the prince day? I think of someone else for a change and this is the thanks I get!” Noct sulked again but as before, broke out in a laugh after a few moments.

As everyone finished up their meals, Prompto went over to the side table to get the cake. The room was silent as everyone held their breath, watching as he carried it to the dining table. “What, I’m not that clumsy!” he defended himself.

“Sure...whatever you say,” Noct teased.

Everyone sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to Ignis and he blew out the candles.

“What’d ya wish for?” Prompto asked him. His thoughts betrayed him as his eyes went to yours. The others whistled and cat called as the two of you blushed. He couldn’t dare admit what he truly wished for, but at least a few kisses for his birthday would suffice.

“Hey now!” Ignis said. “Your wish doesn’t come true if you say it out loud.”

Gladio started to say something in response but was cut off by Ignis holding his hand up. “Don’t even go there, Gladio. No one wants to know what your debauched mind just thought up.”

Gladio just gave him a knowing grin back. Noct changed the subject by suggesting Ignis open his presents while Prompto passed out slices of the cake.

Noct and Prompto had chipped in together to get him a gift card for an upscale clothing shop that he liked and Gladio got him a a few bottles of top shelf wine and enough bags of whole bean Ebony to probably last him the rest of the year. You gave him your presents last, a few cookbooks and a gift certificate for a kitchen supply store that he knew would go to good use.

“Thank you again, everyone. I still think you went to too much trouble, but it was nice to get out together,” he said to everyone after finishing opening his gifts.

As a hint that the time they had reserved the room for was coming to an end, the waiter started clearing the table and left the check with Gladio. Everyone pitched in to help carry the gifts to Ignis’s car for him.

Gladio volunteered for the job of escorting Noct and Prompto home, giving Ignis a wink only the two of them saw. Ignis just rolled his eyes and shook his head back at him with a small laugh. You all said your goodbyes as they piled into Gladio’s car.

Ignis paused beside his own car as he was expecting you to accompany him. “Are you getting in?” Does she not expect me to take her home? he wondered. “You didn’t think you were taking the subway back did you?”

“I didn’t want to trouble you this evening,” you said.

Ignis chuckled, “Don’t be ridiculous.”

You laughed back as you made your way over to the passenger side and climbed in. On the ride back to your place, you suggested he come in for a while, seeing that it still early for a Saturday evening. His chest tightened at the thought of spending time alone with you and he eagerly agreed.

He pulled his car into the parking spot beside your car. He remembered the wine Gladio had given him and grabbed it from the backseat.

“Might as well enjoy this tonight,” he said showing you the bottle.

“Sounds good to me!” You smiled coyly at him. He decided that he was definitely going to need a glass or two to calm himself down if you planned on looking at him like that all evening.

The two of you made your way into your apartment and you told Ignis to make himself comfortable. As he sat on the couch, he could hear you rummaging in your kitchen. You returned with two glasses and a corkscrew that he took from you as you sat down close beside him. Ignis opened the bottle and poured each of you a generous glass.

As you both enjoyed the wine, he spoke, “Thank you for coming tonight. It meant a lot to see you with everyone. I’m glad you were getting on with them so well.”

“You have a great group of friends. You’re the one that made it easy for me,” you smiled back. You suddenly jumped up in the middle of that thought. “Oh, by the way, I have something else for you tonight.”

He wondered what it could be that you saved to give him until now. You brought a small wrapped box back over to him. “I wasn’t sure about giving this to you in front of everyone else.” He noticed your cheeks were a little pink.

He sat his wine down and took the box from you. “You didn’t need to buy me so much,” he said as he unwrapped the gift.

“I know,” you smiled. “I couldn’t help but think of you when I saw this, though.”

He opened up the box to see a small, silver skull necklace. He picked it up lightly to look at it better. It suited his Crownsguard clothing to a T. He couldn’t have bought a more perfect gift if he had picked it out himself. He finally looked up to you with a smile on his face. “I absolutely love it!” He pulled it out of the box and put it on. It was just the perfect length to rest right at the top of his shirt.

“Thank you,” he said moving towards you. There was no way you were going to give him a gift like that and not get a kiss. Or two. Or three.

You sat your wine down and moved back for him to press his lips to yours. Your kisses were relaxed and natural tonight. Ignis was amazed at how quickly the two of you had worked through the first awkward stages of them. Your tongues slipped easily into each other’s mouths now, fighting for dominance over one another. You tasted delicious tonight, he thought, the sweet wine on your tongue.

You moved your legs up on the couch to face him better and moved your hands up to his shoulders as you drew him back into another passionate kiss. His head was swimming. He knew it wasn’t the wine, he had barely made it though half of a glass. Your hands moved down to his chest as his moved down your back to your hips. He wanted you on his lap. He slowly guided you onto himself, meeting no resistance at all. You sat back to look at him and he thought that perhaps he had crossed a boundary with you.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t...” he started to apologize. You interrupted him with a chuckle and removed his glasses, sitting them aside on the couch.

“Shut up and kiss me.” Before he could form a coherent thought your lips were crashing back into his. Six, he thought, you were amazing and all you were doing was kissing him. Warmth spread through his chest and to his groin as he moved his hands back to you again, more aggressive this time. You made it clear enough to him that you wouldn’t have a problem telling him what you did or didn’t want.

He let his hands roam down you back to cup your buttocks in his hands, earning a small gasp and a pause in your kiss for it. As he moved his hands back up he let them brush the sides of your breasts. You worked the top half of his shirt buttons open and let your hands move over his bare chest. He started thinking about some of the fantasies of you he had indulged in while pleasuring himself and realized that they were that much closer to reality now. He could feel the heat pool in his groin and felt his erection start to make its appearance. He broke away from your lips to trail kisses down your neck, enjoying the thought that he was the one that had your breathing so ragged.

He reluctantly stilled his hands and placed a few more small kisses on your lips. “Perhaps we should stop.” He gave you a gentle kiss on your cheek.

“Yeah, maybe we better.” You sounded as reluctant as he felt. He wanted to take his words back, but he knew the farther this went tonight, the harder it would be to stop.

You moved off of him and he immediately missed your weight and warmth. The two of you adjusted your shirts and you gave him his glasses back. He squirmed to try to adjust his half hard cock without drawing too much attention. He doubted that you would have taken offense, but he preferred the night didn’t end awkwardly.

The wine was finished off as the two of you chatted late into the evening. Ignis found himself telling you about his and Noct’s younger years, including the time they both dressed as Chocobos for the Citadel’s Halloween party. You beat that story with the one of your own - a Halloween costume of a cactuar that you couldn’t even move in. You pretended to be your 5 year old self, crying as your arms and legs were trying to imitate the stiff right angles of the strange creature. The two of you were laughing so hard afterwards, that Ignis had to take off his glasses to wipe away the tears. As your laughter died down, Ignis realized it was almost midnight. He sighed and announced it would probably be best for him to get going. He wished his time with you would last forever.

You walked him to the door and he tilted your chin up for a one last drawn out kiss of the evening. He looked back as he got on the elevator to see you leaning out of the door and waving goodnight to him.

He leaned against the elevator wall with a deep sigh. Out of all of the gifts he got for his birthday today, you were by far the best. He loved you and vowed to tell you so next time.


	11. The Bonding Part 1

You finished up your last tour of the morning with a group from Altissia. The last two months of winter had given way to an early spring and the cherry blossoms had finally been coaxed open by the warm April day. You almost didn’t want to bring the group back in after the final stop in the royal gardens. The sun felt so good on your skin. It gave you the idea to see if Ignis was available for lunch today. There were a few cafés within walking distance that had outside seating.

After he didn’t answer three of your texts, you decided to just head up to his office to try to catch him in person. You had learned that he got so caught up in his work at times, that he would forget to look at his phone.

As you got off the elevator on his floor and walked down the hall, you noticed that his office door was closed. As you approached it, you also realized that the lights were off. He was most likely off on business elsewhere today. With a sigh, you decided to just grab something from the cafeteria to eat and head outside to the courtyard on your own. You were determined to take advantage of the sunshine today.

As you started to walk back down the hall, you heard the sound of boots making their way around the corner. As the owner of them came into view, you recognized him as Cor Leonis, better know as The Immortal. You cursed yourself at having the poor timing to run into him. He was handsome as hell, but his tough reputation proceeded him. You nodded politely as you passed him and then turned your eyes down as you attempted to pick up your pace.

“Shit,” you heard him a mutter as he was just behind you. “Hey, were you just here for Ignis?” he spoke turning to you.

You hesitated, then turned back to face him. “Um, yes, I was seeing if he was free for lunch.” You noticed he had a large manila envelope in his hand.

“I forgot Drautos pulled him and Gladio down to the Glaive training hall today. I have a meeting that I’m already late for. Since you’re on break, take this to him. He needed these reports by this afternoon.” He handed the envelope to you, decidedly giving you no choice in the matter. You thought for a moment, and remembered that the training halls were off limits to casual employees. You fidgeted for a second.

“I didn’t think I was allowed in there,” you said trying not to sound nervous.

Cor just stared at you for a moment like he had no comprehension of what you just said. “I told you to take it to him, so take it,” he replied with a shrug. He headed back around the corner and down the hall he came from without another word.

Ignis really had to have the patience of the Oracle to work with that man on a regular basis, you thought. Tucking the envelope under your arm, you headed back to the elevator. At least that explained why Ignis hadn’t returned your texts.

The training hall was on the Citadel grounds, but was in its own separate building. You sent Hallie a quick message that you might be a little late getting back from your break. She answered that there weren’t any tours scheduled until later that afternoon and they could cover your desk duties until you were back. At least you could relax a bit now, and try to find a chance to eat after your errand was done.

Once you were outside again, the warm sun made you slow down and appreciate the walk and the slight breeze in the air. Petals from the blossoms you noticed earlier were drifting in the gentle current. The day was almost too picturesque to be real.

As you approached the hall, you could hear the clinking of steel weapons and sparring cries coming through the propped open double doors. You couldn’t have felt more out of place in your heels and skirt as you walked in and moved to stand amongst a group of new Glaive recruits observing the match from the back wall. Who you could only assume to be Drautos, came over to you with a look that he intended to berate you for wandering into the wrong building. You held the envelope up and said, “Cor needs me to give this to Ignis.”

He nodded his head towards the commotion center stage in the hall and said, “It’ll be a few, he’s doing a demonstration right now.”

In your self consciousness, you hadn’t even realized it was Ignis and Gladio who were the ones sparring. “I can wait,” you responded. The man gave you a shrug and you made your way quietly behind the others to watch.

You had never seen Ignis fight before. You remembered he had mentioned being able to harness magic as well. You were mesmerized as you watched his lithe form flit around Gladio, blocking his massive broadsword with his daggers, only to dart in again with an attempted attack of his own. You noticed he was wearing a pair of leather gloves and for some Gods unknown reason you were instantly turned on by them. Thoughts of his hands clad in them while doing wicked things to you drifted through your mind.

Two younger women moved over in front of you and pulled your attention back to the spar. They gave you the same look Drautos had, but didn’t verbally question your presence like he had.

You wondered why on Eos they were fighting with actual weapons and not the wooden training ones along the opposite wall. A quick flash of red and Ignis’s now flaming daggers answered your question. He let out a low cry and charged Gladio, who was able to bring his sword up at just the last second to block the singeing blow.

The women in front of you looked to each other with hushed giggles, and you thought you heard Ignis’s name come from one of their lips as they looked back up to him. You had no combat experience whatsoever, but you swore to Bahamut that you would wipe their faces all over the training room floor if you caught them so much as batting an eyelash at him.

Drautos yelled out, “That’s enough for now. Break for thirty and meet back here.”

Ignis and Gladio relaxed, their weapons disappearing with a flick of the wrist and a flash of light. It was then that he looked up to see you standing at the back of the room. He gave you a questioning look and you held the envelope up a bit to wave it.

He grabbed a bottle of water and threw a towel around his neck before he made his way over to you. Gladio followed him and they chatted as they walked across the expansive room. The women were still standing near you and shushed each other as Ignis approached. You laughed inside your head at the disappointment they were in for when they realized he wasn’t coming to talk to them. You wanted to stick your tongue out at them, but then chided yourself for how juvenile your thinking had currently devolved to.

Gladio nodded to you on his way out with a wave and a grin, perhaps eyeing the other two women up more than acknowledging you. Ignis excused himself past them to greet you. “Is there something wrong? I didn’t expect you to be here.”

“You hadn’t answered my texts so I went to your office to see if you wanted to go out for lunch. I ran into Cor and he wanted me to bring you this.” The two women finally took the hint and eyed you up quickly as they left the hall. You shot fake daggers into their backs.

Ignis turned to look at them and asked with curiosity, “Do you know them?”

You shook your head and he just raised an eyebrow at you and chuckled lightly. He seemed to have put two and two together.

You turned your attention back to his current state. Gods he looked so handsome at that moment, you thought. His hair was ruffled and wet with sweat, and his skin was flushed from exertion. You wanted nothing more than to drag him to a secluded corner of the room right that second and pin him against the wall. Your arousal had to be coming from all the pheromones coming off in his sweat, you thought. Oh, and those gloves. Yes, you were definitely going to think about those gloves more later on.

“Anyhow,” you spoke up, pushing down your inappropriately timed stirrings. “I don’t know how you can work under him everyday.” You handed him the envelope implying you were referring to Cor.

“He’s truly a great man if you get to know him,” Ignis reassured you. It was your turn now to raise your eyebrow in doubt. He laughed as he put his arm around your back and guided you outside. “Come now, let’s go get something to eat before my break is over.”

                    _________________

A few weeks later in mid-May, you started seeing advertisements showing up for the annual Lucian comic-con. You had gone with your dad a few times when you were younger and he would always let you dress up like it was Halloween all over again. Since then, you really hadn’t connected with anyone who had any interest in the genre, let alone any desire in attending it with you. To say you were elated when Ignis mentioned that Prompto and Noct wanted you to come along with them this year was an understatement. He had volunteered to take them so it would also double as a day out for the two of you.

After spending time with them on Ignis’s birthday, you had started to come over to Noct’s apartment on most of the Saturdays that Ignis cleaned and cooked for the prince. At first, it was a suggestion made by Ignis himself as an idea to spend more time together. He had laughed at you when you asked if you were even allowed into Noct’s apartment. He explained that you already had the clearances needed from your job at the Citadel, and added that he could also run a background check further into your personal life if you ever gave him reason to question your loyalties. He had said the last part with such a straight face, that the color almost started draining from yours. He strung you on for a moment, allowing you to try to form a response, before erupting into laughter again. He did admit he could run background checks on anyone he deemed necessary, but that he was truly just jesting with you.

Nonetheless, you were still quite intimidated knowing you were going to the prince of Lucis’s personal apartment that first time. After arriving and seeing that it ultimately looked just like a typical teenager’s unkempt quarters, you relaxed immediately. Soon everyone realized that you shared the same taste in movies, video games, and card games as they did and it just became assumed that you would usually tag along.

It was also during this time that you took to calling Ignis by his bestowed nickname ‘Iggy’. While being in such a laid back environment with everyone at Noct’s, you found it increasingly awkward being the only one calling him Ignis. The first time you had called him Iggy it was truly a slip of the tongue. You had yelled out to him from Noct’s kitchen that his pot was about to boil over and it just fell off your lips. He gave you his classic cocked eyebrow as you realized what you had called him and then he grinned at you. He admitted he rather liked hearing you call him that and so it stuck.

It was also on one of these such days, the Saturday prior to the one of the comic-con, that found you listening in on Noct and Prompto’s cosplay plans for the event. They were going as a hero and a villain from a series that you weren’t terribly familiar with. Ignis just rolled his eyes as you leaned over the counter watching him expertly chop veggies as small as possible to make them disappear into the dish he was making. You decided that your half formed notion of creating your own costume for ‘The Astrals Above” version of Shiva might not be a good idea after all. You chuckled in your head at the thought of Ignis, immaculately dressed as usual, hanging his head in shame as he escorted the three of you around dressed in half-assed cosplay costumes. You loved him too much to subject him to that.

On the morning of the convention, Ignis swung by your apartment to pick you up. Noct and Prompto were practically bouncing on each other in backseat from excitement when you got in. You had started picking up on how physically close they always were with each other. It was nothing to go over to Noct’s and find them with legs entwined in each other’s from opposite ends of the couch, playing a video game. One time Noct had even fallen asleep with his head in Prompto’s lap while you were watching a movie. You shrugged it off as just an incredibly close friendship.

“Dude! This is gonna be sooo fun!!” Prompto said to you as he leaned over your seat. You wondered why Ignis didn’t have a vein bulging in his temple from his obvious disuse of the seatbelt.

As he drove through town, you both admired and at the same time, laughed, at the costumes they had come up with. You had replaced your abandoned Shiva costume idea with a T-shirt of her you had picked up at the comic shop a few days earlier. When you admitted you almost dressed up, Noct and Prompto voiced their disappointment in your change of mind and Ignis just looked at you with a bit of disbelief. Maybe next year, you thought.

He parked his car in the garage below the convention center. Noct and Prompto launched themselves out of the car and towards the entrance without waiting for the two of you.

“Hey, I thought they invited me along!” you said with feigned, but slightly real, disappointment.

Ignis just laughed. “I’m sure they truly did think of you when they asked you along. I can only guess it has since turned into a ploy to keep me from nagging them all day as well.”

“Well, in that case, I’ll try not to feel too bad, then. I do get to spend the day with you.” You smiled mischievously at him. “Although I might not be any better than them when I get inside and start eyeing up all the swag. Just warning you.”

Ignis just laughed back. “I don’t mind it with you. It’s just a little hard with Noct to have to explain why his entire Crown-appointed allowance for the month was spent here.” You laughed back as the two of you headed in towards the entrance hand in hand.

The afternoon went by fast as you perused the vendor booths. You would occasionally catch glimpses of Noct and Prompto dragging each other around excitedly, the blonde snapping selfies and pictures of Noct with his prized camera. For Ignis’s lack of knowledge and interest in comics, he did take the time to listen to you explain the various plots of some of them, and he admired quite a bit of the artwork as well. You had done a great job at maintaining your composure until you came upon ‘The Astrals’ booth.

You clutched Ignis’s arm as you drug him over to the merch section. “OMG, look at all of it!!” You realized how much you had just sounded and acted like Prompto, but you didn’t even care at the moment. You had saved up a fair amount of money to bring along with you, knowing that you were going to do some damage at this booth.

“Get whatever you’d like,” he said to you as he held up a figure of Ifrit, scrutinizing it’s details. “It’s on me today.”

You looked at him with a bit of shock. “You don’t have to, I brought enough with me, Iggy.”

“Nonsense,” he said sitting the figure back down and looking to you. “Besides, your birthday is in a few weeks, so consider it an early gift.”

“Thank you so much,” you yielded to him with a defeated sigh.

You took your time carefully deciding what to buy. You thought about the irony of how spending someone else’s money actually made you more conscious of what you were buying. You ended up choosing an art book, a figure of Shiva, and a framed print of one of the more infamous issue’s cover art.

As the convention dwindled down, the four of you met back by the entrance. Noct and Prompto had several large bags between them and looked thoroughly worn out. You all packed back into Ignis’s car and headed over to Noct’s apartment.

Ignis headed into the kitchen to search the refrigerator for ingredients to make a quick meal. He finally ended up giving in to Prompto’s pleads to just order a pizza. It had already been too long of a day and he grew tired of arguing with him. Gladio was on his way over to hang out anyhow, so he agreed to pick it up.

After Gladio arrived with Prompto’s prized pizza, the group of you sat around the table eating in hungry silence. Gladio finally spoke up, mentioning he had a favor to ask of you. You wondered what in Eos he could need from you.

“Iris has this mother/daughter thing one of her friends invited her to, and well, she sorta needs a ‘mother’ to take her. Our aunt’s busy that weekend so you’re the only other woman I know that I’d trust to take her.” You had almost forgot about their mother’s passing. For that reason alone, you decided you couldn’t say no, but from what you met of Iris on your first date, she seemed to be a sweet, fun-loving girl. It was good to hear that Gladio trusted you as well.

“Sure, sounds like it’ll be fun,” you answered.

Gladio just snorted. “If you say so. But I appreciate it, though. She’ll be happy. She keeps asking how Iggy and his ‘pretty’ girlfriend are doing anyhow.” You blushed a bit that he had to point that part out. Ignis was quiet as he listened. “I’ll let you know the details when I find out. It’s not until later in June.”

After the pizza was devoured, the five of you decided to watch a movie to kill the rest of the evening. Not far into it, the day finally caught up with you and you dozed off on Ignis’s shoulder. You awoke when the credits were rolling and moved off of him to stretch and yawn.

“Perhaps we should be going,” he announced, yawning himself. He went to get his briefcase he had brought along and came back to the living room to give Noct the week’s reports. As he explained them to him, Prompto came back in from the kitchen, tripping over a carelessly dropped game controller and spilled perhaps the reddest soda in existence on the light colored carpet.

“Bloody hell, Prompto!” Ignis exclaimed jumping up.

“S-sorry!!” Prompto squeaked, scrambling back up to his feet. “I’ll clean it up!” he offered.

“It’s all right, I got it,” Ignis huffed. You knew what he meant by ‘he got it’. You never knew a man who could clean as thoroughly as he did. Noct groaned, obviously knowing this fact as well, and you decided to intervene.

“I have to go into work tomorrow, Iggy. Come on, I think they can handle a little spilled soda. Let’s go.” It was the truth. You normally didn’t work on a Sunday, but you volunteered to go in for overtime to do some planning for the upcoming summer tourist season. You tugged his shirt sleeve.

Ignis looked between you and Noct, defeated. “Alright. But if that stain doesn’t come out, I’m not to be blamed.”

The two of you said your goodbyes and made your way to his car. Gladio was starting to say his goodbyes as well on your way out. As Ignis drove back to your place, you thought about how he had to drive past his apartment to get to yours. The chill in the night air had served to give you a second wind and it was only 8 p.m.

You reached over to rest your hand on his leg and teasingly drew circles on it with a finger. “It’s still a little early, you know. We could always stop by your place for a drink.”

“You know I could be persecuted for serving someone underage alcohol,” he shot back to you in a serious tone. He took the next exit off the highway towards his apartment as he gave you a sideways glance.

By the time you made it into his place, the idea of a drink had been long abandoned. As soon as the door shut, Ignis tossed his keys and phone on the entry table, and he had you pinned against the wall fighting your tongue with his own for dominance over a kiss.

He guided you backwards to his bedroom as neither of you would break the kiss and gently pushed you onto the bed. Your hands were all over each other. You teased him half out of his shirt as he pulled yours over your head. As he worked on the hook of your bra, you finished the buttons on his shirt and pushed the garment off his shoulders. He finished undoing your bra and as he shrugged his shirt the rest of the way off. You let your bra slide down from your shoulders. He let out a low growl as he pushed you down and attacked a breast with his lips as his hand cupped the other.

You could feel his erection pressing into you and thought about reaching down to undo his belt buckle.

A knock at his door stopped both of you from moving. “Who in all the bloody hells could that be.” He rarely ‘swore’ and already twice tonight he had uttered that phrase. For some reason his frustration and lack of composure was turning you on tonight. He made to sit up, but you held onto him, wrapping a leg around him and pushing yourself into his hardness. You kissed his neck and murmured, “Just ignore them, maybe they’ll leave.”

The knock returned, louder this time, and you sighed. Ignis got up and hurriedly put his shirt back on and buttoned it up. You watched with interest as he adjusted his erection in his pants to make it less obvious to whoever was so rudely interrupting you. He went out to answer it and you could hear another man talking. You snuck over to the half-closed door and realized it was Gladio’s voice. Leave it to him to be the one to walk in on the two of you, you thought.

After a few minutes of listening to them talk, you decided that perhaps it was better for you to get home soon after all. As you hesitantly got dressed, you heard Gladio’s voice get closer to the bedroom, and rushed to finish pulling your shirt over your head. Thankfully it drifted off again as you heard the apartment door open and close.

You poked your head out from the short hallway to make sure the coast was clear.

Ignis was making his way back across the living room when he saw you. “Gladio,” he gestured with his head towards the door. You nodded knowingly to him. “I left my briefcase at Noct’s and he decided to drop it off on his way home.”

You decided that the interruption was probably all your fault after all. You had swooped Ignis out of there pretty quickly when he had wanted to clean up that spilled soda.

You moved further out into the living room and you noticed Ignis was struggling to hide his disappointed expression when he realized you were now fully dressed again. “I should probably get home,” you said as the two of you moved into each other’s arms. He leaned down to kiss you as you ran your hands up his chest to his shoulders. He just hummed his agreement half-heartedly into your mouth. He started to tug at the hem of your shirt again.

You couldn’t help but push him back and chuckle. “If I don’t I’m going to end up spending the night and doing God’s knows what to you and then I’ll be late for work, I’ll get fired, we won’t be able to see each other as much...”

He grabbed you again, peppering comical kisses on your face to get you to quit talking. “All right, all right. I’ll take the sleepy beauty back home to her palace for a good night’s rest, then.” The two of you laughed as he grabbed his keys and phone and he led you out of the door. He made sure to steal a few more kisses on the elevator ride down to the parking garage.

                    _________________

Even though work didn’t start for you the next day until 10 a.m., you still looked barely presentable when you arrived. You had awoke in the middle of the night after a fairly erotic dream had left you awake and unsatiated. You could hardly remember any of it, but gladly thought of Ignis in his gloves as you quickly finished off the orgasm the dream had denied you.

As you laid in bed coming down from your release, you thought about how your relationship was progressing intimately with him. It was a reality, now, that you and him were most likely going to have sex at some point in the near future. It was thrilling, and to be honest with yourself, a bit scary, to think of. What if it changed how you felt about each other too much? Perhaps you should look into some birth control now, you thought as well, instead of waiting until the last minute. You started thinking about having to remember to call your doctor for an appointment next week and by that point your mind was fully awake. Even though it was only 3:30 a.m., you decided to just get up for the day. You could always take a nap when you got home.

The morning at the Citadel consisted of a presentation on some new historical facts about the city of Insomnia that were going to be pulled into the educational part of the tours. If it wasn’t for Hallie sending you occasional texts to make your phone buzz in your lap, you would have slept through most of it.

As the two of you ate lunch on your much needed break, she commented on the state of your fatigue. “Lover boy keep you up all night?” she said, winking at you.

“Come on Hallie, you know we haven’t gone that far yet,” you rolled your eyes playfully at her.

“You have some willpower, that’s all I have to say. If I were you I would have already been all over his...” you cut her off.

“All right,” you laughed. “I get your point.” You paused for a moment as your expression grew more serious, and finally decided to ask her honest opinion on a few things. “So, does it change anything between you, once, well...you know?” You felt almost embarrassed to actually be talking out loud to her about this.

She laughed and leaned in closer to you to make the conversation more private. She looked thrilled that you were finally opening up to her more about your relationship. “With the right person, absolutely not. I think it just brings you to a whole other level of existence with each other.”

You thought on her words for a moment before asking the other question you had thought of last night. “Are you on any birth control? I don’t think I could even enjoy it if there was any chance of something happening.”

“I just use condoms, but you have to do what is comfortable for you. There’s a lot of women who use the pills or get shots.” She smiled at you. “Gods I’m so happy for you. You have like the perfect boyfriend in the world to be your first.”

You were blushing so hard right now from both the topic of conversation and how Hallie was currently fawning over the two of you. “Thanks, Hallie. But, it’s not like we’re taking the leap tonight. I have some time to think about it.” The two of you finished up your lunch and headed back in to work to practice mock runs of the new tour layout.

                    _________________

You walked into work on the Friday before your birthday to ‘Happy Birthday’ balloons tied to your desk chair, and a cake and some presents on your desk.

“Thank you guys,” you said to your coworkers. “You didn’t have to go through all this trouble!”

You didn’t mind small things like this, but you didn’t like it when people fussed over you too much. You had made Ignis promise on the soul of his favorite kitchen knife that he wouldn’t plan a birthday party for you. He started to teasingly recall the party you had conspired in for him. After you were squirming in your seat, he finally admitted that he’d much rather cook dinner for you and have you all to himself that evening. You thanked him for coming to his senses.

That Saturday, he asked if you’d be able to meet him at his place in the early evening. He would normally pick you up himself, but he said cooking dinner for you was making that part a little challenging. The food would surely be cold by the time he ran out to get you.

As you arrived and knocked on his door, he drew you into his apartment with a kiss. “Happy birthday, darling.”

You followed him out to the kitchen where he had his table set beautifully with candles. He had a salad out and you smelled what could only be his roast that you loved emanating from under the foil on the cutting board. “It smells absolutely delicious, Iggy.”

He smiled. “Go ahead and have a seat and help yourself to the salad. I’ll get us some wine.”

As you sat, you saw the single red rose and small box he had on your plate. “What is this?” you asked him with a tsk. “You already bought me all of that stuff at the convention the other week. You didn’t have to get me anything else.”

“I know,” was all he replied as he handed you your wine with a smile and sat down across from you.

You laid the rose beside your plate and opened up the box. It was a delicate pair of diamond earrings. They were absolutely beautiful and most likely ridiculously expensive.

“I didn’t think you had a pair of diamond earrings. I thought they’d look lovely on you,” he said, raising his wine glass to them.

“I love them,” you beamed. You wanted to continue to chide him for getting them for you, but he looked absolutely thrilled that you liked them. “Thank you so much!” You graciously accepted them and put them in your currently empty lobes.

He looked over you, taking in more than just the earrings. “Exquisite,” he practically purred. You were ready to melt into a puddle on your chair if he kept his gaze on you any longer. Thankfully your stomach chose that moment to growl, lightening up the heated atmosphere just a bit. Ignis chuckled and suggested that it would be a good idea to eat now, before things got cold.

It had indeed been the roast that he had made. He took his time to plate the food with the grace of a five star chef. It was so deliciously tender it practically fell apart in your mouth. You pointed out that if his career as advisor to the future king didn’t work out, he could always open up his own restaurant.

The two of you worked your way through two bottles of wine as you ate and then sat chatting for a bit afterwards.

“So, the Summer Gala is next month. I’d like you to attend with me,” Ignis proposed. You thought your heart stopped for a brief moment. The Gala was one of the biggest and most exclusive events held at the Citadel. Royals and celebrities alike rubbed elbows at it. Of course you were going to say yes, but you couldn’t even begin to fathom what was even in fashion for an event like this at the moment. The last thing you wanted to do was look like some street urchin accompanying one of the most handsome men there. Hallie to the rescue again, you thought.

Ignis’s expression started to grow concerned when you didn’t answer him right away. “Sorry, yes, of course I’ll go! It’s just, that’s such an elite affair, it just caught me off guard is all.”

Ignis tsked at your concern. “No need to worry yourself. I won’t leave your side. And besides, you will be one of the loveliest ladies there.”

“Stop, now you are really going to put the pressure on me,” you laughed with a blush on your face. You knew you weren’t unattractive by any means, but you still couldn’t get used to being called beautiful by someone all of the time.

The two of you stood to start clearing the table, and your legs wobbled a bit. Definitely a little too much wine tonight, you thought.

Ignis had always insisted on washing the dishes up right after dinner. You knew it was fruitless to try to convince him to just relax and leave them go this evening. The wine that was swimming around in your head right now told you to give it a try, anyhow. You were supposed to be drying as he washed, but instead you had moved behind him, wrapping your arms around his waist, and started to unbutton his shirt.

“I won’t be swayed,” he said in a stern voice, trying not to betray his amusement.

You leaned over to lick his earlobe as you moved your hands down his exposed chest to start working his belt. A devious thought came to mind. “I thought of something else that I’d like for my birthday.” He paused for a moment and then turned the water off.

“And what would that be, my dear?” he questioned you.

“I want to see you naked,” you whispered in his ear. Your intimate moments had been growing bolder each time, but had not really strayed much below the waist, besides some groping through your clothes. You had intentions to undo his pants for the first time a few weeks ago, when Gladio had unfortunately interrupted you.

He stilled and you could tell he was holding his last breath unconsciously. He turned to face you and his eyes where curious when they met yours. “Too much wine?” he asked with grin.

You chuckled, “Not nearly enough.” And it was the truth you thought, realizing the request that just left your lips.

He held your gaze for a moment with a contemplative look. “All right, but only if you return the favor.”

“Fair enough,” you smiled coyly at him. You mentally patted yourself on the back for succeeding in making him forget about the dishes. You led him by the hand back towards his bedroom. As you passed the bathroom, another idea came to mind. “Hold on,” you said as you stepped in and pulled a towel off the rack for him. You pressed it into his hand. “You get undressed in the bedroom and I’ll change in here.”

He nodded and flushed as you gave him a flirtatious grin, shutting the bathroom door as he stood there.

You stripped out of your clothes and folded them in a neat pile on the sink. You took a moment to look yourself over in the mirror before wrapping the towel under your arms. Your wine induced confidence wavered a bit as you made your way to the bedroom and saw Ignis standing at the foot of the bed with his towel around his waist. His toned chest and abdominals gave way to a V-line that disappeared under the towel. As he turned his eyes up to you, you saw your same apprehension flash across his features for a moment before his gaze softened.

You couldn’t help but laugh as you made your way over to him, stopping a few feet away. “I’m starting to think this was a ridiculous idea.”

“Should I remind you whose idea this was, darling?” he tsked back.

“No, need,” you shook you head back at him with an exasperated laugh. “Well, then?”

“I do believe you were the one that asked for this. Who am I to keep a lady waiting?” He took a breath and slowly let the towel fall to the floor. He now stood bare in front of you, save for the necklace you had bought him for his birthday.

You inhaled sharply when you took in the sight of his half-erect member. You had only saw nude men in pictures, so you weren’t exactly sure what to expect in person. He was definitely a little bigger than you had imagined. You could feel your pulse pick up.

When you finally brought your eyes back to his, his cheeks where flushed pink. “You are so incredibly handsome,” you said looking him over again. He brought one of his hands up to run through his hair. “My turn,” you said quietly. He hummed in response as you started to pull the tuck of the towel loose.

“Wait,” he stopped you and thought for a moment. “Turn around and take it off.”

As you turned to obliged, you realized he had a full length mirror on the back of his door. You could feel the heat grow in your core.

You finished untucking the towel and watched your exposed front half as you let the towel fall leisurely down your back and over your buttocks. When it pooled to the floor, you looked back to him over your shoulder and noticed he had his hand on his cock, palming it slowly.

He let his hand drop as he came up behind you, laying soft kisses down your neck. You could feel his erection brushing against your behind. You both watched in the mirror as he ran his hands over your breasts and trailed one down between your legs. He rubbed your thigh just beside your groin a few times before slipping a finger into your folds. You let out a small moan and you could hear his breath hitch in your ear. You were almost embarrassed at how wet you must already be. No fingers other than your own had ever touched you like that before.

“Does that feel good?” he murmured into your ear, voice deepened with lust.

“Gods yes,” you said on an exhale.

He turned you around and pulled you into a fierce kiss. You pushed him back to the bed as the two of you were acting purely on instinct now.

As you clamored up on the mattress, he made his way on top of you, continuing the kiss he started, both of your hands touching as much skin as they could gain purchase on.

Ignis finally broke the kiss with ragged breathing and rested his forehead on yours. “We...we should probably stop,” he said hesitantly between breaths. “If we don’t, well, it will only get harder to, and I don’t have any condoms.”

You traced circles on his back with your fingers. “I don’t think I’m ready for that today anyhow, and I don’t think you are either.” He hummed in agreement. “But... I don’t want to stop either,” you stilled your fingers on him. “There’s other things we can do besides sex, you know. I mean, if you want to that is.”

He searched your eyes as you guided him off of you and onto his side. You let your hand trail down between the two of you and boldly moved your fingers to trace the length of his cock. It felt like velvet and the tip had a bead of liquid on it. His eyes fluttered closed as his lips parted to draw in a deep breath. You remembered reading somewhere about men leaking pre-cum when they were aroused and your clit throbbed at the thought that you did that to him. You wrapped your fingers around his girth and stroked him a few times before his hand grabbed your wrist to still it.

You were starting to think that you went too far when he moved to give you a soft kiss. He murmured into your mouth, “I want you to show me how to touch you. I want to make you feel good.”

You didn’t think it was possible for your cheeks to feel any hotter than they currently were. “Okay,” you managed to answer back.

He let out a nervous chuckle. “I have absolutely no idea what I am doing, though.”

“Well, I won’t with you either, if it’s any comfort,” you laughed back. “Guess we’ll just have to teach each other.”

He moved back over top of you to trail kisses down your neck to your breasts, pausing to take a nipple between his teeth to bite down just enough to elicit a gasp from you. He circled the now hardened bud with his tongue and he continued his line of kisses down your belly and past your navel. He sat back and parted your legs to gaze at your bared sex, his thumbs rubbing at the juncture between it and your thighs. You had never felt so exposed, but Gods it was turning you on the way he was scrutinizing your body.

He tentatively ran a finger down the middle of your spread folds and back up to your clit. He noticed when you gasped in response to that touch and rubbed your clit a bit more. “Do you like that?” You could only nod in agreement. He continued to explore you with his fingers, repeating movements that you gasped at or admitted felt good. You guided his finger to show him just the right pressure and tempo that you enjoyed and then let him take over.

You were lost in your own pleasure when he stopped his movements suddenly. You looked up to him as he gazed over your body. “You are so bloody beautiful,” he practically growled. He removed his glasses, discarding them to the side of the bed with a carelessness you didn’t usually see from him. He moved to hitch your leg over his shoulder and leaned to place kisses on the inside of your thigh.

Surely he’s not going to do what I think he is, you thought as you held your breath, watching him. He moved over your center and placed a gentle kiss on your clit as you gasped.

You grasped the sheets on either side of your hips as he licked a line with a pointed tongue down to your entrance and back before swirling his tongue around your clit. He moved his mouth off of you to let out a small moan, “You taste utterly divine.” You could feel his breath on you as he spoke and you could already feel the beginning of your release start to build. He continued with his tongue as he slipped a finger inside of you. “Is this all right?”

“Yes,” you stuttered out. Having a finger in you from that angle was a new sensation, one that was incredibly stimulating. He returned to work on you, adding a second finger along side the first. He started to move them in you and you knew you weren’t going to last much longer.

You were panting heavily as you pulled your head up to whimper at him. “Iggy, Gods. That feels so good.” In response, he curled his fingers inside you and pressed his tongue against you harder. You let your head fall back to the pillow as your orgasm quickly overcame you. You could feel yourself clench on his fingers, trying to draw them in further, as you let out small sobs of pleasure.

When your spasms stopped, he pulled back, wiping his mouth on the inside of your thigh and his fingers on the sheets. “Did you just have an orgasm?” he asked, almost astonished at what he did to you. You could only nod your head in response. He slid up to lay beside you. “Did you enjoy that?” he questioned you.

“Mmm hmm,” you hummed, still coming down from the high. He stroked your cheek as your breathing evened out. “It was amazing, actually,” you added as you looked up to him, pulling his face to yours to kiss him deeply.

“Now, is it ok if I go back to what I started earlier?” you teased him lightly.

His eyes blackened as he answered you, “Please, carry on.”

You guided him to lie on his back, so you could sit to his side to see him better. His cock looked even bigger now that it was fully erect. You moved your hand back to wrap around it and start to stroke it again. He put his hand around yours, and like you did, he guided you a bit to his preferences of tempo and grip. You imagined him touching himself like this as he lie in bed, fantasizing about you. He was audibly panting now. You could feel the warmth reignite between your legs.

Your mind went to the thought of taking him in your mouth. You remembered Hallie talk about her various boyfriends enjoying oral sex. You had teasingly chastised her for giving you unsolicited pointers, but now you thanked her for them in your mind.

You moved your hand from him and slid down the bed a bit until your face was hovering close to his length.

He sat up on his elbows. “You don’t have to just because I did,” he said with a bit of concern.

“I know,” you answered as you took his erection in your hand again to hold him upright. “I want to.” You licked up the length of the underside and to your slight surprise it twitched it response. He let out a shuddering breath as you continued to lick around the head, ending with a suctioning kiss on the tip.

You glanced up to him, still on his elbows watching you. He looked like you had completely ravaged him already and you had barely done anything to him yet.

You turned your attention back to his cock. After a few more tentative licks and kisses, you opened your mouth to take him in. He tilted his head back to let out a delicious, strangled moan. You made it your goal tonight to elicit that noise from him again.

You sucked back up his length, and then took what you could without choking back in. His breath was ragged now as he watched you through lidded eyes, dark with lust. You felt like you could have another orgasm completely untouched just by watching him come undone. You started experimenting with circling your tongue around the tip before you took him back in again.

He laid back as he tangled his hands in your hair. You could feel them shake as he gently bucked his hips up to meet your rhythm.

He looked up to you again as you could feel his body tense. “I-I’m not going to last much longer,” he stuttered. You took that as encouragement to redouble your efforts, wanting to drive him over the edge into oblivion. “Please, I’m going to come in your mouth if you don’t...”

You ignored him and used your hand to pump the part of his length that you couldn’t fit into your mouth. He tilted his head back as he let out another moan that was even hotter than the last one. His hips canted up into your mouth as he held your head. His cum came in warm spurts, and not wanting to look foolish with it running out of your mouth, you swallowed it down. You had actually been a bit nervous about that part and had almost pulled your mouth off of him at the last minute. To your relief it wasn’t that bad.

You left a few gentle kisses over the softening organ as he ran his hands through your hair. As you moved back up beside him, you wiped your mouth on the back of your hand. You realized with fascination how incredibly lewd the act you just performed on him was. You were still in slight disbelief at what the two of you had just done. Ignis seemed to be completely undone and in another realm at the moment.

He rolled to his side to face you, still trying to gain control over his breath. He caressed your cheek with his thumb. “That wasn’t necessary, you know.”

“Of course it was,” you replied. “I said I wanted to.”

He moved to kiss your forehead and pulled the two of you closer together. “Stay with me tonight,” he asked.

You were more than happy to oblige. “Okay,” you answered back as he pulled the blankets up around the two of you. As he cradled you to his chest, you felt the strong call of sleep start to overtake you. You drifted off in the safety of his arms, lulled by the steady rhythm of his heart.


	12. The Bonding Part 2

Ignis had just sat down at his desk, taking a long sip of his hot Ebony, when his phone buzzed beside him. He had only been at the Citadel for twenty minutes that morning and already Cor had caught him in the hall to tell him he would be getting the Crownsguard recruitment roster to him at lunch to review, Clarus had called him to let him know there was an emergency council meeting at the end of the day, and now Drautos’s name graced the message that just popped up on his phone. He half wished there was scotch in his Ebony instead of cream.

Drautos was requesting both his and Gladio’s presence in the Glaive training hall later this morning to demonstrate sparring with elementally imbued weapons. Just what he wanted to do on a Monday. He took his glasses off to rub the bridge of his nose in annoyance before setting to work on the stack of paperwork in his inbox.

Around 11 a.m. he changed into a sleeveless shirt and a pair of sweats before heading over to the training hall. It was fairly warm for an April day, and he found himself taking his time getting to his destination so he could enjoy the clear sky and sunshine.

He walked into the hall to find a small group of Glaives starting to gather and Drautos and Gladio arguing over something political. It was going to take all of his strength to get through this morning, mentally more than physically, he thought. He unconsciously rolled the skull charm on the necklace you had gifted him between his fingers. He had taken to this habit whenever he started to feel stressed.

He put his bag in the far corner of the room and walked over to the two bickering men to find out more about the task at hand.

                    _________________

A flash of red filled Ignis’s vision as his daggers came to life with flame. Gladio had hesitated for just a moment too long and left a glaring opening for him to exploit. Ignis let out a low growl as he charged forward to go in for the finishing blow. At the last second Gladio was able to bring his broadsword up to block the attack. It never failed to impress and frustrate Ignis how a man of his size could have the reflexes of a couerl.

Drautos called to them, “That’s enough for now. Break for thirty and meet back here.”

Ignis relaxed back and flicked his wrists, dismissing his weapons. He shook his hands to work out the tension in them from pushing against Gladio’s block.

“I think someone’s here to see ya,” Gladio said pointing his chin across the room.

Ignis glanced up to the crowd of Glaives who were slowly dispersing and saw you standing along the back wall. What is she doing here? he thought. More importantly, how long has she been here? He started to replay the last few minutes of the spar to make sure he hadn’t done anything to make himself look foolish in front of you.

You must have recognized the questioning look on his face as you held an envelope up a bit to show him what you were there for. He grabbed a bottle of water and threw a towel around his neck before making his way over to you. Gladio chatted to him about the cute Glaives standing in front of you and Ignis just rolled his eyes at him.

He excused himself from Gladio and past the women of said man’s attention to greet you. His mood lightened a bit at your presence. “Is there something wrong? I didn’t expect you to be here.”

“You hadn’t answered my texts so I went to your office to see if you wanted to go for lunch. I ran into Cor and he wanted me to bring you this.” The women by the two of you started to leave and Ignis noticed you giving their backs a piercing look. He wondered if you knew them from somewhere seeing the bit of disdain you seemed to harbor towards them.

You shook your head no at his questioning of it. Ignis couldn’t help but chuckle out loud. He could only imagine you had perceived them as a threat and had launched some type of non-verbal war with them.

When he met your eyes again, he had caught yours roving over him rather unsubtly. He recognized a flash of arousal in them that lasted mere seconds. He was a sweaty mess at the moment, and wasn’t quite sure what could possibly be turning you on about him right now.

“Anyhow,” you shook your head, clearing that look from your face. “I don’t know how you can work under him everyday.” you passed him the envelope as he realized that you were talking about Cor. He was slightly amused at the thought of you running into him. He was a nice man, you just had to look through his tough exterior. It also helped that Ignis had grown up in his presence.

“He’s truly a great man if you get to know him,” Ignis reassured you. You gave him a comical look of doubt as he put his arm around your back as he started walking outside. “Come now, let’s go get something to eat before my break is over.”

                    _________________

Ignis chopped the peppers and broccoli into oblivion as you leaned over the counter intently watching him. He had learned if he chopped them up small enough, he could hide them in most sauces and Noct was none the wiser.

The two of you were currently at the prince’s apartment as Ignis took care of his weekly cleaning and cooking. You were intently listening to Noct and Prompto’s plans for their cosplay attempts at the annual Lucian comic-con coming up the next weekend in mid-May. You had looked like you could hardly contain yourself when he had told you that Noct and Prompto wanted you to come along to the event. Ignis knew they asked you to come due to the interest in comics you shared with them, but he also felt it was a ploy to distract him from being a constant shadow over them that day.

Ignis couldn’t have been happier to find that you had a lot in common with the other guys. He had initially suggested that you come along one Saturday to spend more time with him as he took care of his chores for Noct. At first, you had been a nervous wreck, despite trying your best to not let it show. You had even questioned whether you were allowed in Noct’s apartment. Sure, not just anyone was freely allowed, but you already had the clearances necessary from being an employee at the Citadel, as well as Noct’s succinct permission. Technically he could also run a deeper background check on you if he had any suspicions. He strung you along with that last thought, telling you if he ever questioned your loyalties he could do that. You had such a pale look on your face that he almost felt bad for teasing you. With a squeeze of your leg, he admitted that he was just jesting and apologized for for it.

On your first visit, Ignis watched as you overcame your anxiety as you joined Noct in Prompto in a fighter video game that quickly turned into an intense competition. The two guys sat in shock at their defeat while you crossed your arms with a smug expression on your face. The four of you ended the evening with a movie and a heated game of spades.

They had asked if you were coming the following week as well, and that was the beginning of you joining in the ring of friendship with them.

He was also pleased that you took to calling him “Iggy” around this time. It was a nickname that had mostly been reserved for those closest to him. The first time you called him it, it took him quite by surprise. He was in the living room talking to Noct, and you had called it out to him to get his attention that a pot was boiling over on the stove. He grinned with a raised eyebrow at you as he came over to gain control of the stove. You seemed embarrassed that you had called him that, but he reassured you that he actually liked hearing that from your lips. You had called him by it ever since.

The Saturday morning of the convention, Ignis stopped at Noct’s to pick both him and Prompto up. He left himself in and could hear chattering and laughs coming from the bathroom. He walked over to find the two of them decked out in rather ridiculous costumes and using copious amounts of hair products to get their unrealistic, gravity defying styles to stay in place. He paused for a moment to think how good it was that the two of them had found each other. Their friendship, and now budding relationship, grounded each of them.

“Hey, Specs,” Noct greeted him without looking away from the mirror. Prompto just grinned at him giving him his best superhero pose. Ignis just rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“Ugh! We should have had Iggy be ‘The Black Scepter’! He would have rocked that costume!” Prompto laughed. Noct joined in agreement.

Ignis feigned despair, “I’m thoroughly devastated that you didn’t think to ask me.” His words dripped with sarcasm. He rolled his eyes again with a chuckle this time. “I’ll be waiting for you in the car. Please don’t dally.” If it wasn’t for you coming along, it would be a terribly long day, he thought.

Thankfully, they didn’t take much longer to get ready and join Ignis in the parking garage. They hopped in the backseat and he headed back down the highway to stop to pick you up.

You were waiting on the steps outside your building and jumped up to get in the car when you spotted them. He thought how terribly cute you looked in your T-shirt, hoodie, and jeans. In his eyes you were gorgeous no matter what you wore.

“Dude! This is gonna be sooo fun!!” Prompto leaned over the front seat. Ignis had given up reminding him to wear his seatbelt long ago.

As he drove through town, you talked to Noct and Prompto excitedly about their costumes and what booths they were anxious to see. You bashfully admitted that you had traded your Shiva cosplay idea in for the comic store T-shirt of her you currently donned. Ignis had a hard time hiding the surprise on his face at your confession. He truly hadn’t expected you to be in leagues with Noct and Prompto in the cosplay department. The more he thought on it, though, the more he secretly wished you would have been bold enough to do it. Most depictions of Shiva didn’t leave much of her body to the imagination.

Ignis had barely backed his car into a spot in the convention center’s parking garage, before Noct and Prompto leapt out and headed to the entrance without waiting for either of you.

“Hey, I thought they invited me along!” you said. Ignis picked up on a bit of disappointment, despite you trying to act like you were joking.

“I’m sure they truly did think of you when they asked you along. I can only guess it has since turned into a ploy to keep me from nagging them all day as well,” Ignis confided to you. He spoke the truth, hoping it would keep your feelings from being hurt.

“Well, in that case, I’ll try not to feel too bad, then.” You shot him a mischievous look. “Although I might not be much better when I get inside and start eyeing up all the swag. Just warning you.”

Ignis couldn’t help but laugh. “I don’t mind it with you. It’s just a little hard with Noct to have to explain why his entire Crown-appointed allowance for the month was spent here.” You laughed back as he took your hand to head inside.

Ignis was surprised how quickly the afternoon actually passed. Unlike Noct and Prompto would have done, you tried to explain the plots of some of the comics and pointed out some interesting facts about them and their artists as you made your way through the vendor booths. Ignis kept his eye on Noct and Prompto, keen on their whereabouts at all times. They seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves and there didn’t seem to be any worry of a threat to him here, but Ignis was always on guard. Noct was his life and he would do anything to protect him, duty or not.

He was startled when you suddenly grabbed his arm and exclaimed, “OMG, look at all of it!!” You pulled him over to the ‘The Astrals Above’ booth that you had been anticipating. He laughed to himself just how much you were acting like Prompto at the moment. You had warned him, he supposed. It was actually quite endearing.

You looked like a child given free run over a toy store as you studied the merchandise table. Ignis picked up a figurine of Ifrit which was amazingly detailed. As he scrutinized it, he thought of an idea. “Get whatever you’d like. It’s on me today.”

You looked at him, seemingly not sure what to say. “You don’t have to, I brought enough with me, Iggy.”

“Nonsense,” he said sitting the figure back down. He knew you always became a bit awkward when he insisted on paying for things for you. He had chalked it up to your independent nature. Even though he respected that, he truly enjoyed indulging you. He rarely spent money on frivolous things, so pampering you from time to time made him feel good. He added, “Besides, your birthday is in a few weeks, so consider it an early gift.”

“Thank you so much,” you finally gave in. He followed you as you carefully chose what you wanted, settling on a figure of Shiva, an art book, and a framed print.

With his arm around your waist, the two of you headed back to the entrance as the crowd wound down. Noct and Prompto joined you, along with several large bags between them. They looked worn out from all of the excitement and Ignis assumed their wallets were equally worn thin. The four of you made your way back to the car to head back to Noct’s.

Once there, Ignis scoured the refrigerator to come up with something for dinner. His nerves were finally worn thin with Prompto’s pleads to order pizza. Gladio was coming over shortly to hang out, so Ignis conceded and sent him a text to pick one up on his way over.

After Gladio arrived the group of you sat around the dining table eating the pizza in a hungry silence. Gladio turned his attention to you mentioning that he had a favor he needed from you, “Iris has this mother/daughter thing one of her friends invited her to, and well, she sorta needs a ‘mother’ to take her. Our aunt’s busy that weekend so you’re the only other woman I know that I’d trust with her.”

Ignis had bristled at first, slightly offended that Gladio wouldn’t have come to him first if he needed something from you. After hearing what it was for however, he felt a bit ashamed of himself for taking offense.

“Sure, sounds like it’ll be fun,” you had agreed.

Gladio continued with a laugh. “If you say so. But I appreciate it, though. She’ll be happy. She keeps asking how Iggy and his ‘pretty’ girlfriend are doing anyhow.” Ignis watched silently as you blushed a bit. “I’ll let you know the details when I find out. It’s not until later in June.” He swore Gladio was just flirting with you, but he pushed the thought aside so as not to ruin the evening.

After eating, you all had decided to watch a movie to finish off the day. Shortly into the film, Ignis felt you rest your head on his shoulder. He could tell by your breathing that you fell asleep not long after. He left you go, it had been a fairly long day and he was getting a bit tired himself.

You awoke as the movie was ending and moved off of him to stretch and yawn. Ignis yawned in return as he said, “Perhaps we should be going.”

He remembered the reports that he needed to leave for Noct and retrieved them from his briefcase, bringing them back to the living room. As he was giving him a brief explanation, Prompto came back in from the kitchen. He tripped over a game controller carelessly left on the floor, spilling the artificially dyed red soda he had just opened all over the light colored carpet.

“Bloody hell, Prompto!” Ignis jumped up. Of all the things for him to be careless with, he thought.

“S-sorry!!” Prompto exclaimed. “I’ll clean it up!”

“It’s all right, I got it,” Ignis huffed. Something like that would not easily come out of the carpet. He started to think of the best cleanser to take care of the task and was about to head to the kitchen to see if Noct had any stowed under the sink when he was interrupted.

Noct groaned at the same time you spoke. “I have to go into work tomorrow, Iggy. Come on, I think they can handle a little spilled soda. Let’s go.” Ignis did know you had to go to work tomorrow, but it wouldn’t take him long to clean this up.

He contemplated the look you were giving him and Noct rolling his eyes, and gave in a little too easily. “Alright. But if that stain doesn’t come out, I’m not to be blamed.”

He escorted you out as the two of you said your goodbyes. Gladio was by the door getting ready to leave soon as well. As Ignis drove away from Noct’s apartment, he noted the chill in the evening air served to wake him back up a bit.

It obviously had the same effect on you, he thought, as you reached over to tease his leg with your hand. “It’s still a little early, you know. We could always stop by your place for a drink,” you suggested.

He was quite certain what you meant by a ‘drink’, but played along anyhow. “You know I could be persecuted for serving someone underage alcohol,” he tried to sound as serious as possible. He took the next exit off of the highway, leading to his place, as he glanced at you out of the corner of his eye.

By the time the two of you made it through his apartment door, you had long forgotten the bait of a drink. Ignis discarded his phone and keys on the table by the entry and proceeded to push you against the wall, trapping you in a fierce kiss. He thought about how the two of you had been becoming more intimate with each other. He couldn’t get the thought of your bare breasts out of his mind, how your hardened nipples felt against his tongue and lips drove him wild. He could feel the space in his pants grow increasingly tighter as his cock sprung to life. He really wanted to start taking things further with you, but wasn’t sure if you were ready for the same thing. He decided he would see what happened tonight and go from there.

He broke the kiss and led you back to his bedroom. As the two of you moved onto the bed, you were frantically kissing again, as your hands were tugging and roving over each other’s chests and backs. You worked open the top half of the buttons on his shirt as he pulled the hem of yours up. You moved your arms up to allow him to pull it over your head and he set to work on your bra. He cursed whomever invented these damned, bloody hooks. In the meantime, you finished unbuttoning his shirt. He shrugged it off quickly as he undid the last hook on the garment. You let it slip off your shoulders and sat it aside. Gods, your body was exquisite he thought, drinking in the sight of your perfect breasts. He let out an involuntary low, guttural growl as he pushed you down to attack them. He licked and sucked a nipple, as he cupped the other breast in his hand.

He was painfully hard already and it took all of his composure to not grind it into you to seek out more pleasure.

A knock at the door interrupted the two of you. Ignis couldn’t even fathom who would be at his door at this hour. This is utterly annoying, he thought. “Who in all the bloody hells could that be?” He started to move to get up, but you held on to his arms. You kissed along his neck and purred to him, “Just ignore them, maybe they’ll leave.”

Ignis conceded to you and moved his lips to yours as the knock returned, louder this time. He sighed heavily as he got up this time, and hurriedly put his shirt back on and adjusted his erection in his pants. You were sitting up on the bed looking abandoned and his cock twitched in sympathy.

He went to the door, swinging it open with irritation, to see Gladio standing there about to knock again. Ignis could only blink at him in disbelief. Gladio pushed past him, inviting himself in. “Your welcome,” he said as he handed Ignis his briefcase.

Ignis internally berated himself for leaving it behind at Noct’s. You had talked him into leaving in such a hurry, he had forgotten about it. “You could have called me first,” Ignis said flatly to Gladio.

“I did,” Gladio said as he nodded to Ignis’s phone on the entry table. Indeed there was a missed call notification on the screen. Ignis sighed.

“So, up for a couple rounds of drinks?” Gladio said, starting to make his way back to the kitchen. Ignis started to go after him but paused near the hall to the bedroom. Of all the times for him to barge in, he thought, pushing his glasses up to rub the bridge of his nose.

Gladio stopped and turned around, a look of realization forming on his face. He finally noticed Ignis’s state - hair disheveled, shirt wrinkled and untucked, cheeks slightly flushed. “Y/n’s here, ain’t she?” he said quietly as a grin formed on his face.

“Yes, Gladio, she is,” Ignis said with exasperation.

Gladio’s grin morphed into a devilish smile as he held his fist out, intending for Ignis to bump it back. Instead Ignis stood there with a look of disdain on his face. Gladio dropped his fist and laughed as he walked back towards the door, slapping Ignis on the back on his way past. “Hey, I’ll see ya on Monday,” he said as he let himself out of the apartment. Ignis crossed the room to lock the door.

He ran his hands through his hair as he turned to start back towards the bedroom. He saw you standing timidly at the end of the hall. “Gladio,” he gestured with his head towards the door. You nodded. Apparently you had realized it was him. “I left my briefcase at Noct’s and he decided to drop it off on his way home.”

You made your way out to the living room towards him and he had a hard time hiding his disappointment at the fact you where now fully dressed again. As you moved to wrap your arms around his waist you informed him, “I should probably get home.” He leaned down to draw you into a kiss. You ran your hands up his chest and around his shoulders as he hummed a dishonest agreement into your mouth. Maybe you could be swayed, he thought, as he tugged at your shirt hem.

You pushed him back lightheartedly with a chuckle, “If I don’t I’m going to end up spending the night and doing God’s knows what to you and then I’ll be late for work, I’ll get fired, we won’t be able to see each other as much...”

He pulled you back to him and pecked you with childish kisses all over your face to get you to quit making excuses. As much as he would have liked to have pushed things with you further that evening, he was not about to make you do something you didn’t want to do. “All right, all right. I’ll take the sleepy beauty back home to her palace, for a good night’s rest, then.” He scooped his keys and phone back up and led you out the door. As the two of you made your way down in the elevator, he stole a few more heated kisses from you.

                    _________________

Ignis looked up from his desk at work on Monday when he heard footsteps approach his office. Gladio poked his head around the door and waved a fast food bag, his trademark grin on his face. Ignis had been so involved in a report he didn’t even realize it was lunchtime. He was ready to tell Gladio that he wasn’t that hungry, when his stomach growled, betraying him.

Hearing that, Gladio invited himself in, kicking the doorstop out on his way to close the door behind him. Ignis just raised an eyebrow at him as he pulled up a chair on the opposite side of he desk and divided out the food.

“What?” Gladio said in his baritone.

“I could ask you the same thing?” Ignis retorted.

Gladio couldn’t keep his composure any longer and smirked at Ignis. “So, did you bang her after I left the other night?”

“GLADIO!!” Ignis spat out. The larger man feigned cowering in fear behind the burger he had just unwrapped.

“What?!” he laughed. “It’s good to have a friend to finally talk to about women.”

Ignis’s face was red. He wasn’t sure if it was from embarrassment or annoyance at Gladio’s salacious verbiage. He breathed in through his nose as he tried to compose himself. Perhaps he was overreacting, he thought, and being a bit too harsh on him. Men did confide in each other about these things, and this was probably just Gladio’s way to find common ground to bond. He amusingly wondered if you did the same with Hallie. He supposed you most likely did, thinking back to the knowing looks the woman always gave him when he came around to ask for you.

“No, I didn’t ‘bang’ her as you so crudely put,” he finally said.

“Ok, so if not then, have you ever yet?” Gladio asked stuffing some fries in his mouth like this was a conversation about the weather in Leide.

Ignis suddenly felt a bit sheepish to admit he hadn’t. “No.”

Gladio looked up to him and realized how uncomfortable he looked. “Hey, sorry Iggy. I didn’t mean to put you on the spot.” He thought for a minute before continuing. “I’m just glad really you have someone to be with.”

Ignis sighed, “Thank you, Gladio. I, well, it’s just awkward talking about it to you,” he stuttered. “I have no experience whatsoever and you, to put it bluntly, have been around the block a few times.”

“Hey, now!” Gladio laughed. “I haven’t been with as many women as you probably think.”

Ignis just raised an eyebrow at him.

“Anyhow. Just cause you haven’t done the deed doesn’t mean you can’t have fun, ya know?” Gladio tried to lighten up the conversation.

“I suppose,” Ignis said with a bit of hesitation.

Gladio assessed his response. “Have you guys done anything with your clothes off?”

Ignis blushed again, to Gladio’s amusement. People rarely saw him flustered like this. “Yes, a bit. Just our shirts. We’ve only been together for a little over 5 months now. What do you expect? And besides, when you have people barging into your apartment...”

Gladio laughed. “Yeah, sorry ‘bout that.” Gladio’s expression softened. “I’ve never even dated anyone longer than 4 months. I guess I just assumed you guys had done it by now.” He started to throw his garbage away as he stretched up out of his chair. “I should probably be heading back over the the training room.” Ignis nodded as he stood to walk him to the door.

Gladio turned with a thought forming on his face. He grinned again as he spoke, “So, advice number one for you. When you finally get her pants off for the first time, you got to go down on her. Women love it. She’ll be putty in your hands after that.”

Ignis looked at him questioningly, “Go down on her?”

“Yeah, ya know...” Gladio mimicked his meaning with a tongue flicking between the V his fingers formed.

“For the sake of the Six, Gladio! Get out of here!” Ignis laughed, regretting he asked. He playfully shoved him the rest of the way out of his office.

Gladio headed down the hall as Ignis propped his door open again. “If you ever want any more advice, just ask,” he said with a wave.

“I’ll be sure not to,” Ignis threw back sarcastically.

                    _________________

Ignis was thankful that your birthday fell on a Saturday this year. He rarely asked for scheduled time off, but he put the request in to take the whole weekend off to spend with you. It was still never a guarantee that an emergency wouldn’t come up that he would be needed for, but it at least gave him some hope of uninterrupted time off.

He intended on surprising you with a home cooked dinner. He had been experimenting with a roast recipe that you had taken fondly to, and felt he finally had it perfected.

He texted you that morning to ask if you’d be able to meet him at his place in the early evening. He would normally pick you up himself, but preparing dinner for you was making that part a little challenging. The food would surely be cold by the time he ran out to get you.

He wiped his hands on his apron as he finished the roast and it sat on a cutting board covered in foil to rest. He made a simple tossed salad and placed the bowl on the table, fussily rearranging the candles again. He set the plates and silverware out, adding a single red rose and a small box to yours. He knew you would protest, but he had wanted to get you another gift to open that evening. He had never seen you with a pair of diamond earrings in, so he settled on a pair that he thought would suit you well.

He was looking over his final preparations as he heard the knock on his door. He opened it and drew you into his apartment with a kiss. “Happy birthday, darling.”

You followed him out to the kitchen where he had things set up for you. His chest warmed when you took in the sight of the dining table and lit candles with a radiant smile. “It smells absolutely delicious, Iggy.”

“Go ahead and have a seat and help yourself to the salad. I’ll get us some wine,” he said smiling back to you. He turned to open up a bottle of red wine and poured each of you a glass. He had settled on something a bit sweeter than he preferred, knowing it was what you favored.

He turned back to you as you sat and saw the gift he had on your plate. “What is this?” you scolded him lightly. “You already bought me all of that stuff at the convention the other week. You didn’t have to get me anything else.”

“I know,” he smiled to you with a simple response as he handed you your wine.

He watched your expression soften as you opened the box. “I didn’t think you had a pair of diamond earrings. I thought they’d look lovely on you.” He didn’t voice the thoughts he had of how lovely you’d look in _only_ them.  

“I love them,” you beamed. “Thank you so much!” You put them in your currently bare lobes and they lit up your smile even more.

He smiled back at you, the thoughts of your naked body still at the cusp of his mind. “Exquisite.” You smiled demurely back at him, a hint of desire flashed across your eyes. Your stomach then chose to growl at that moment, grounding both of you in the present again.

Ignis chuckled as he stood to take your plates to the counter to get the food. You had him so distracted he was afraid the roast was going to be cold. It thankfully steamed as he cut into it and he plated the rest of the meal with the grace of a five star chef.

As you two ate, you complimented him over and over how delicious everything was. He was quite proud of this dish, it had to have been the best he had ever cooked to date. He opened up a second bottle of wine as you finished up and sat chatting for a while as your food settled.

He remembered he wanted to tell you about the announcement of the official date of the annual Summer Gala at the Citadel. It was one of the larger events that was held and was quite the prestigious affair.

“So, the Summer Gala is next month. I’d like you to attend with me,” he proposed. Your expression turned serious for a moment as he watched you think about it. Ignis started to grow a bit concerned the longer it took you to respond. The thought that you wouldn’t want to go with him hadn’t even crossed his mind.

“Sorry, yes, of course I’ll go! It’s just, that’s such an elite affair, it just caught me off guard is all,” you finally answered to his relief.

“No need to worry yourself. I won’t leave your side. And besides, you will be one of the loveliest ladies there,” he chased your concern. He was truly excited to have you on his arm that evening. He was quite sure it would be an evening for you to remember.

“Stop, now you are really going to put the pressure on me,” you answered back with a bit of a blush. He knew you were a confident woman, so your coyness was either an act or he truly affected you that deeply. Either way it turned him on.

As he stood to start clearing the table, his head spun a bit with all of the wine. He took the plates to the sink and handed you a towel to dry as he turned the water on. He intended to clean everything up so he could just relax the rest of the evening, but you had other ideas.

You moved behind him, snaking your arms around his waist as you started to work the buttons on his shirt open.

“I won’t be swayed,” he tried to sound as serious as possible, playing back at the game.

He quickly decided he lost when you leaned in to lick his earlobe. Dishes be damned he thought as he turned the water off and dried his hands.

You ran your lips down his neck as you spoke. “I thought of something else I’d like for my birthday.”

“And what would that be, my dear?” He had no idea what you were going to say, but knew what it was ultimately leading to.

“I want to see you naked,” you whispered, laying soft kisses now on his neck. Your bluntness froze him for a moment. As he finished processing what you said, he felt his groin come to life with anticipation.

He hadn’t even realized he had been holding his breath until he spoke. “Too much wine?” he said with jest as he turned to face you.

You chuckled back, “Not nearly enough.”

He thought about you naked again, as well. His pulse raced at the thought of your bodies entwined on his bed, skin to skin. “All right, but only if you return the favor.” Ignis searched your eyes for any signs of hesitation and met none.

“Fair enough,” you answered back quickly. You took his hand to guide him back towards his bedroom. He felt like he was in a haze, both from the alcohol and the lust swimming around inside his skull. You stopped outside the bathroom with a thought, stepping in to grab a towel to press in his hand. “You get undressed in the bedroom and I’ll change in here.”

All Ignis had time to do was nod his approval before you disappeared into the bathroom, closing the door behind you.

He made his way into the bedroom, turning on only a small lamp by the bedside. He made sure the blinds were drawn and then began to undress himself. He laid his clothes neatly over the back of the desk chair in his room. Soon the only thing left on him was his necklace you had given him for his birthday and his glasses. He actually preferred to ditch the latter, but he wanted to see every inch of your body clearly. He became overly aware of how chilly the air suddenly was.

His cock was half hard in anticipation as he wrapped the towel around his waist. He heard the bathroom door open and watched as you made your way in, closing the door behind you. The only thing separating your skin from his was two flimsy bath towels. Your eyes traveled up his chest to his eyes. Ignis suddenly felt the most vulnerable than he could ever remember being.

You made your way over to him, gaze softening as you laughed lightly. “I’m starting to think this was a ridiculous idea.”

“Should I remind you whose idea this was, darling?” Ignis said with a tsk.

“No, need,” you informed him. “Well, then?”

Ignis felt his muscles tense involuntarily. “I do believe you were the one that asked for this. Who am I to keep a lady waiting?” Now or never he thought and let the towel fall away to the floor. You drew a sharp breath in as you eyed up his erection. He remembered that you likely had not seen a man nude in person before. Your eyes continued to linger over him long enough to make him blush. He could feel his cock grow harder.

You finally looked up to his eyes and spoke, “You are so incredibly handsome,” you said looking him over again. Being nude in front of your scrutinizing eyes and your compliments had Ignis’s brain completely shut down to higher levels of thinking at the moment. He was almost embarrassed of himself. He could only respond by running a hand through his hair in response. “My turn,” you finally spoke again, softly.

He watched your hand as it moved to untuck the towel around your chest. “Wait,” he found his voice again. He contemplated the fact that he had a full length mirror on the back of his closed bedroom door. “Turn around and take it off.”

He watched as you opened the towel from the front and let it slide down slowly, revealing your shapely buttocks before falling to the ground at your feet. His hand instinctively went to his cock as he gave himself a few strokes at the sight of your nude body in front of him. You turned your head to look at him, drawing him toward you. He let his hand fall away from himself as he pressed against your back, leaning in to place kisses down your neck.

Ignis looked to the mirror now, along with you, as he moved his hands around you to cup your breasts. As he teased the nipple on one, he let his other hand travel downwards, stopping to rub you thigh just to the side of your groin. He could hear your breath hitch. He could feel the warmth of your buttocks against his cock and he resisted the urge to rut himself against you. He slid a finger over your folds to find you wet with your arousal already. He had heard Gladio jest about women getting all wet for him, but he hadn’t put much purchase in it until now. You leaned back into him with a small moan that went straight to his cock.

He was breathing heavily when he whispered in your ear, “Does that feel good?” He almost didn’t recognize his own deepened, lust filled voice.

“Gods yes,” you said as you breathed out.

He spun you around and crashed his lips into yours, forcing his tongue into your mouth. You started pushing him back towards the bed and the two of you made your way onto it.

Ignis moved on top of you, pushing your legs open slightly with his knee to lay between them. He leaned down to pull you into another fierce kiss. Both of your hands were almost frantic on each other and he could no longer stop himself from grinding his length into your thigh.

He finally broke the kiss, his breathing ragged. He wasn’t sure what intentions you had, but he was afraid with the wine you both had and your current states of arousal, things could go too far too fast. “We...we should probably stop,” he said hesitantly as he rested his forehead on yours. “If we don’t, well, it might just get harder to, and I don’t have any condoms.” The thought had never crossed his mind about them until now. He would have to pick some up the next time he went shopping, he thought. The thought of having sex with you sucked all of the air from his lungs.

You soothingly traced circles on his back with your fingers as you spoke, “I don’t think I’m ready for that today anyhow, and I don’t think you are either.” Ignis hummed his agreement to you. “But... I don’t want to stop either,” your fingers stilled. “There’s other things we can do besides sex, you know. I mean, if you want to that is.”

He was thinking on what those other things on your mind might be, when you started to roll over, guiding him to lay by your side. He searched your eyes and was met by your darkened pupils. Your hand trailed down between the two of you and he braced himself for what he now realized you had meant. He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath as your fingers swept up his cock to move about the tip, spreading the pre-cum he was leaking on to it. His mind went numb when you circled your hand around him and gave him a few strokes. He suddenly reached out to grab your wrist to still you. He was embarrassingly close to going to the over the edge already. It wouldn’t do to ruin the evening without exploring your body first.

He moved over to pull your lips into a soft kiss. As you opened your mouth to deepen it, he murmured into you, “I want you to show me how to touch you. I want to make you feel good.”

You pulled back from the kiss, your cheeks pinkening. “Okay,” was all you could find the breath to answer him back.

With your agreement he realized just how nervous he really was. What if he didn’t please you? He didn’t want to let you down. “I have absolutely no idea what I am doing, though,” he finally admitted with a chuckle.

“Well, I don’t either, if it’s any comfort,” you laughed back. “Guess we’ll just have help each other figure it out.”

Ignis moved back on top of you and kissed a line down your neck to your breasts. Your sweat was making your skin taste deliciously salty. He took a moment to appreciate the perfect mounds in front of him before taking a nipple into his mouth. He took it gently between his teeth and bit down just enough to cause you to gasp. He could feel his cock twitch in response. He swirled his tongue around the assaulted bud before moving his kisses down your belly and past your navel. He sat back on his knees between your legs and drank in the image of you panting on the bed before him. He used both hands to part your legs farther open and studied your bared sex before him. Textbook descriptions did nothing to describe the delicate sight before him. His hands still rested at the juncture of your legs and your folds and he rubbed his thumbs in circles there. He looked back up to your eyes and couldn’t help but think how incredibly beautiful you looked bared before him, cheeks red and a hint of shyness in your features. Gods how he wanted to grab his cock and pleasure himself at the sight.

He moved one hand from your thigh to run one of his fingers down the middle of your spread folds to gauge your reaction. He ran it back up to the little nub of flesh at the top that he guessed to be your clitoris and you gasped in response. He left his finger there to rub some more at the spot that got your attention. “Do you like that?” he asked you, even though he knew the answer. You could only nod in agreement. He continued to explore you with his fingers, noting what movements you reacted to. You eventually reached your hand down to take his hand and guide his finger to the tempo and pressure you seemed to enjoy before pulling back to let him continue on.

He suddenly thought back to the advice Gladio had offered him in his office that day with that lewd gesture. In the heat of this moment, it didn’t quite seem as lewd as he remembered. He realized, that in his distraction, he had stilled his movements on you. You were looking up at him as he ran his eyes back over your body. He wondered what he had done so well in life to deserve you spread out on his bed before him. “You are so bloody beautiful,” he said, his voice coming out more of a growl in his passion. He removed his glasses, setting them aside on the bed, not even caring at the moment if they ended up broken. He pulled one of your legs up to his shoulder as he leaned down to place kisses on the inside of your thigh. He moved his body to lie between your legs and placed a gentle kiss on you clit.

That simple gesture caused you to gasp and clutch the sheets at your sides in your hands. Perhaps he should heed Gladio’s advice more often, he thought. Now he contemplated exactly what he was supposed to do from here. He decided he would use his tongue to replace what he learned you liked with his fingers. He licked a line down to the dip to your entrance and back up, swirling his tongue around your clit. He was surprised at how incredible you tasted. He never thought the flavor a woman’s nether regions would go straight to his head. He pulled his mouth off of you for a moment to let out a small moan of his own. “You taste utterly divine.”

He moved his tongue back on you, alternating between licks, swirls, and kisses. You were starting to writhe beneath him. He thought he could come untouched just from pleasuring you like this. He imagined what it would feel like to have his cock buried in you and tentatively brought a finger up to your entrance. When you didn’t react he pushed it into you. It was so warm and tight, his cock was practically begging for his finger to share the space with it. “Is this all right?” he asked you, pushing his own thoughts aside.

“Yes,” you stuttered out. As he swirled his tongue around your clit some more, he moved a second finger inside your warmth. Your thighs were starting to shudder.

You sat up to whimper at him between panting breaths. “Iggy, Gods. That feels so good.”

He would do anything to hear you say his name again and pushed his tongue against you harder. He curled his fingers in you as he moved them in and out and your head fell back to the pillow as you indeed called his name out again with a moan. He could feel you tremor and clench down on his fingers in waves as you continued to let out muffled sobs of pleasure. Did I just make her come? he thought in astonishment.

When your movements finally subsided, he pulled his fingers and mouth away from you, both covered in your essence. He wiped his mouth on the inside of your thigh and his his fingers on the sheets before moving back up to lie beside you.

“Did you just have an orgasm?” he asked, confirming what he already suspected. You nodded back to him with a satiated sigh. “Did you enjoy that?”

“Mmm hmm,” you hummed with your eyes closed. He reached out to stroke your cheek as your breathing regulated. “It was amazing, actually,” you added. You opened your eyes to stare into his as you kissed him again, more languidly this time.

“Now, is it ok if I go back to what I started earlier?” you said lightly poking his chest.

Gods yes, he thought. “Please, carry on.”

He was pushed over onto his back by you, as you sat up beside him. His cock was almost painfully erect as it bobbed at attention. He watched as you put your hand back around it and started to stroke him again. He couldn’t take the light teasing strokes you were giving him, so he took heed to your earlier actions for yourself and wrapped his hand around yours. “Like this,” his voice shook as he squeezed your hand harder and moved it a little faster. He moved his hand from yours as you continued his lead, adding this little twist at the top that made him see sparks. He laid his head back down, panting with an open mouth.

He was caught off guard as you removed your hand from his length and slid further down the bed to hover over it. My Gods, he thought. I’m not going to last if she takes me in her mouth. He hoped you were doing this because you wanted to and not just repaying him.

He sat himself up on his elbows to see you better. “You don’t have to just because I did,” he said.

“I know,” you said with confidence. “I want to.” You took hold of him with your hand again to hold his length up straight. It twitched hard as you ran your tongue up the underside. He almost laughed as you looked at it with amusement. You ran your tongue around the head and placed a lingering kiss on it. He let out a shuddering breath he didn’t realize he had been holding in.

As he sat watching you, he felt how completely undone he was at the moment. He was a panting, sweating, trembling mess and you had barely used your mouth on him yet. He locked eyes with you as you gave him a few more licks and kisses.

He was almost disappointed when you pulled back and gave him a few strokes with your hand again. It was a short lived letdown as you leaned back in to take him into your open mouth. He watched as you only took just a bit of him in at first, sucking lightly as you moved up and down. Your mouth was so warm and he could feel your tongue sliding against him as you moved up and down. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes as he let out a soft, breathy moan.

He felt like his vocalization served to encourage you. You set to a faster rhythm on him and took more of him in. He was transfixed on the sight of his cock disappearing into your mouth over and over. He could no longer hold himself up on his trembling arms and laid back on the pillow again. He reached down to tangle his hands through your hair and tried to fight the urge to thrust into your wet mouth. His hands shook as he gently held your head and gave into his desires. He couldn’t control his hips any longer from rolling up in a gentle thrust to meet your mouth as you took him back in again and again.

He could feel his groin start to tighten in the telltale sign of his building orgasm. He looked up again to give you the warning. “I-I’m not going to last much longer,” he stuttered.

Instead of taking your mouth off of him like he had expected, you intensified your efforts on him. He was slipping dangerously close to the edge and thought perhaps you didn’t understand what he was trying to tell you. “Please, I’m going to come in your mouth if you don’t...”

And you continued to ignore him and actually used your hand to stroke the part of him you couldn’t get into your mouth. Six, he thought, you had to have understood him this time. A few more strokes and he broke. He tilted his head back and let out an unbridled moan as his orgasm tore through him. You didn’t slow at all on him and it was almost too much to bear. He couldn’t keep his hips from canting up harder into your mouth as he tried to hold your head still. He knew his cum was filling your mouth, and almost felt guilty for it, but you swallowed it down without any protest. As his release subsided, you placed soft kisses on his softening length. You finally moved back up beside him, wiping your mouth on the back of your hand along the way. He thought about how incredibly vulgar sex acts really were, but quickly decided that if it meant doing this with you as often as he could he would be happy to consider himself a lech.

He rolled over to his side to look into your eyes as his breathing returned to normal. He reached up to caress your cheek with his thumb. “That wasn’t necessary, you know.”

“Of course it was,” you replied back, reassuring him. “I said I wanted to.”

He moved to kiss your forehead and pulled the two of you closer together. He didn’t want this moment in your embrace to ever end. “Stay with me tonight,” he asked on a whim.

“Okay,” you answered back. He pulled the blankets up around the two of you and pulled you even closer to cradle you to his chest. In this moment, he questioned how it was even possible to feel so in love with someone. He listened to your breathing slow down into the steady rhythm of sleep as you drifted off, your head held tight to his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this update was a little late. Life’s been a real peach lately. At least I have this to look forward to working on! Enjoy and again, all of your comments and kudos are much appreciated!


	13. The Convergence Part 1

You were eating your lunch in the Citadel’s cafeteria with your nose buried in a book, when you noticed a large shadow looming over you. Marking your page, you looked up into the amber eyes of Gladio. You could see how he had earned his ladies man reputation. He was both insanely handsome and naturally charming. And now that you knew him better, you found that he was also fiercely loyal to those he considered his friends.

“Hey, y/n,” he smiled, taking a seat across from you, unwrapping a sandwich he had just bought. “Reading anything good?”

When you had first learned he was an avid reader you almost laughed out loud, thinking it was a joke. You thought that surely a muscle head like him wouldn’t have any interest in reading, and especially not the romantic fantasy novel sitting on Noct’s kitchen table that you were told was his. It took a moment for the shock to subside when you realized they weren’t kidding you. The saying of never judging a book by its cover had never been so fitting, and it gave you a newfound perspective on what type of person he really was.

“Oh, hey, Gladio. Just the second book in a fantasy series I started reading last month,” you said, closing the book and showing him the cover. “It’s not too bad.” He took it from you to read the synopsis on the back.

“Hmm. Might have to check it out.” As he handed the book back to you, his fingers met yours and he was slow to pull them back. You thought you sensed him tense for a moment, but then he continued. “So, that thing for Iris is next Saturday. I thought I’d have Jared, our chamberlain, pick you up.”

Wow, you thought. You knew the Amicitia’s were a prestigious family, but you didn’t realize they employed their own chamberlain. The thought of what type of people Iris’s friends and their parents might be started to become slightly intimidating. “That works for me,” you finally responded.

“Supposedly it is a brunch first, and then you’ll go to a spa to learn make-up and fashion and girl stuff,” he said wrinkling his nose before laughing.

You laughed back as well. “Are you sure you don’t want to take her?” You paused to give him an overly contemplative look. “I could totally see you rocking some red lipstick.”

He chuckled loudly at your response. “Yeah, that’d be real cute now, wouldn’t it? Anyhow, I’ll give you Iris’s number. You can get in touch with her if you have any other questions.”

“Ok,” you said, getting out your phone. He rattled off the number as you made a new contact for her.

“Why don’t you give me your number, too?” he asked you. “I’ll give it to her just in case she needs to get in touch with you before you message her.”

You couldn’t help but think that was a ploy for him to get your phone number for himself as well. “Sure,” you said, scribbling it down for him anyway.

He tucked the scrap of paper in his back pocket and settled back to eating his sandwich. “So, how’s things going for you and Iggy?”

“Good. He asked me to go to the Gala with him next month.” You weren’t exactly sure what he was getting at. Wasn’t he friends with Ignis enough that he should know how your relationship was going?

“Yeah, he told me he was going to ask you. I have prince duty that evening, lucky me.” He rolled his eyes as he finished his food and crumpled the wrapper up. “I’ll be there, but no tail chasin’ for me that night,” he sighed. He stood up and stretched. “Well, gotta get back. I’ll be seein’ ya,” he said as he walked off.

“See you later,” you said with a wave.  
                    ____________

As promised on the day of the outing, an older, yet impressively opulent car pulled in front of your apartment building. An excited Iris waved through the back window at you as you got up from the bench you had been waiting on.

As you scooted in the backseat, the older gentleman in the driver’s seat gave you a smile. A young boy, not much more than 5 or 6 years old, bounced in the passenger seat beside him.

“Hi, y/n!” Iris exclaimed. “I’m so excited for today! Thank you so much for taking me! This is Jared and his grandson, Talcott, by the way.”

You smiled back again at Jared and said hello to each other, as Talcott turned over his seat to wave excitedly at you. “Hi!” he squeaked, a Li’l Malbuddy figure in his other hand.

“Hey cutie!” you responded to him. He gave you a toothy grin and sat back down as Jared pulled out onto the highway.

After a short drive through town and Iris filling you in on more details of the day, the two of you were dropped off at a restaurant in the upscale shopping district of Insomnia. You hoped the light sundress you chose to wear held up to everyone standards. You cringed at the thought of having to worry about something so petty.

You and Iris made your way inside and were escorted to your table for the brunch. You relaxed somewhat when you realized the two other families you were seated with seemed to be relatively down to earth. You all introduced yourselves and noting that you were too young to obviously be Iris’s mother, they kindly questioned your relationship. Iris quickly answered for you, quickly blurting out that you were dating her brother’s friend. You blushed a bit and nodded in agreement with her.

The meal thankfully went fast, and after enduring a brief speech on the importance of mother/daughter bonding, you were herded onto a tour bus to go to the spa. Once in your seats, you put a hand on Iris’s leg in concern. She had been quiet since the presentation, during which she had nervously picked at her fingers. “Are you ok?” you asked gently.

She looked up to you with those doe-eyed amber globes. “Yeah,” she sighed. “It just still hurts sometimes. I really miss her.”

“Come here,” you said, as you wrapped your arm around her shoulder. She snuggled into your side and you sighed back.

The rest of the day went by on a much happier note. At the spa, you were treated to a massage and a manicure and pedicure. You then had personal lessons on applying makeup, which you were grateful for. Hallie would be proud of you.

As things started to wrap up, the two of you realized you still had an hour to kill before Jared came to pick you up. You suggested walking down the street to an ice cream shop you had noticed on the bus ride over and Iris eagerly agreed. After ordering, you sat at a small café table outside enjoying the warm sunshine.

“So, did Iggy invite you to the Gala next month?” Iris inquired.

“He did,” you replied between mouthfuls of your ice cream.

Iris beamed with excitement. “Yay! It’ll be so fun! What are you wearing?”

“I’m not really not sure yet. I haven’t figured out what I can afford,” you said with a bit of a frown.

“Well, I’m sure you’ll look pretty in whatever you wear,” she said with her 14-year-old innocence. “I always go to this little boutique back by the restaurant we were at. You should come with me to help me pick out a dress!”

“Okay,” you agreed. You were finding it hard to say no to her for anything. No wonder Gladio always seemed like he had his hands full with her, you mused.

Iris gave you what you now realized was the trademark Amicitia grin as she kicked her dangling feet in excitement.  
                    ____________

You met up with Ignis later that evening for dinner at a small Galahadian restaurant in your neighborhood. He looked dreadfully tired and you questioned him as to why he didn’t just go straight home to bed.

“Because some days, being with you is better than just throwing in the towel,” he responded, cupping your hand from across the table. “Plus, I could really use a drink,” he chuckled. You had noticed he ordered himself a whiskey on the rocks. He rarely went for straight liquor unless he had an exceptionally bad day. You thought about asking him what happened, but decided it was better to let him enjoy what he had left of the evening without reliving whatever it was.

As the two of you chatted over your dinner, you mentioned to him that you were going to help Iris pick out a dress for the upcoming Gala. He questioned whether you had found yourself a dress yet. You fidgeted as you admitted you still weren’t sure. You didn’t mention your concern about the cost. He smiled back at you and reassured you that there was still plenty of time to find the right one.

On the ride back to your place, you invited him in to “relax” some more, knowing what it would turn into. Ever since your birthday, the two of you took every opportunity you had to be intimate with each other.

You had admitted to him during one especially impassioned moment that you had decided to go on birth control. You were getting increasingly nervous about where things were headed with the two of you and had finally decided it was better to do so just to be safe. He thankfully agreed with you and admitted back that he had also been thinking about getting a pack of condoms, just in case.

Much to your disappointment, he declined your invitation that evening. He sheepishly admitted he really was too tired after all and had another early morning assignment the next day.

You jokingly exclaimed that he was a party pooper and gave him the most passionate kiss you could muster, hoping to change his mind. He unfortunately wouldn’t be swayed. You smiled, shaking your head at him.

“Alright, sleepy head. Go to bed. I’ll talk to you tomorrow?” you said.

He chuckled. “If I don’t lapse into an irreversible coma tonight, I’ll call you.”

You laughed back and gave him one final kiss before retreating into your building in defeat.  
                    ____________

The next weekend, Iris met you at a small café a few blocks from the exclusive shops that lined the main street in the shopping district near the Citadel. The two of you grabbed an iced coffee and headed to the store for Iris’s scheduled appointment with the consultant. You both eyed up luxury purses and jewelry through the windows of the shops you passed along the way.

You finally arrived at the small boutique and opened the door for Iris to go in first. The shop itself was elegant, but relaxed. A woman at a small greeting desk smiled warmly at the two of you. “Can I help you ladies?”

Iris bubbled back, “Yeah, we’re here for the 2 p.m. appointment.” She shot you a sly look that left you confused.

The woman checked her schedule. “Oh, yes, Iris Amicitia and y/n. We have a private room ready in the back for you two. This way please.”

Wait, you thought. Iris had to have misunderstood you when you agreed to go with her. You had only intended to help her pick out her dress, not shop for yourself as well. Panic started to set in as Iris started to follow the woman back. There was no way you could afford anything in here. “Iris, wait, there must be a mistake, I never scheduled an appointment for myself.”

“Come on, silly!” she said, winking at you. She ignored your pleas and went to the back of the store to the private room as you reluctantly followed.

The greeter excused herself, stating your consultant would be in. She told you to help yourself to the fruit and cheese on the small side table.

“Iris, there’s no way I can...” you started to confess to her. She popped a strawberry in her mouth as she pointed to a white rose with a small card tied to it.

You untied it as you looked questioningly at her. She just smiled back at you as you read.

_~ I cannot wait to see how beautiful you look by my side at the Gala._

_All your love,  
Ignis_

_ps - I plan to wear a purple tie._

You shot a look back at her. She was grinning from ear to ear. “So, you knew about this all along?”

“Yup! When Iggy found out you were coming with me, he called the store to make the arrangements for you. He made me swear not to tell you.” Iris wore a proud look on her face.

You blushed a bit as you sat down and picked out some fruit from the tray. You shook your head as you smiled. “He’s too much!”

Iris giggled. “You two are so cute together! Ugh, I want to be in love like that someday!” she said, clutching her hands to her chest.

“I’m sure you will, Iris. And they’ll have their hands full with you!” you laughed and playfully threw a grape at her. She tried to catch it in her mouth and missed with less grace that a garula ballet dancing.

The two of you had devolved into childish giggles as the consultant came in to introduce herself. You apologized for the two of you as the woman laughed it off. She made a list of your sizes and what the two of you were looking for in styles. You struggled more than Iris to decide. You had started looking for one as soon as Ignis had asked you to go, but nothing had caught your eye, or your budget, yet. You managed to tell her you liked longer dresses and didn’t want anything too revealing. You also mentioned Ignis’s note of the purple tie. For some reason he had taken a liking to that color recently.

You sent him a quick text while you were waiting.

 **Y/n:** This is entirely too much, you know.

 **Ignis:** I wouldn’t have it any other way, my love ;-)

 **Y/n:** Thank you. You don’t know how much this means to me. ♡

 **Ignis:** I hate to be brief, but I am in a meeting right now. I will probably be over at Noct’s until later tonight. I should be home after 11p. Enjoy your day. Ttyl xoxo

 **Y/n:** xoxo

After a short while, she returned with some dresses picked out for both of you. Iris’s choices were cute and colorful, perfect for a girl in her mid-teens. You looked over your choices and were stunned at how perfect the woman had read your mind.

Iris tried her dresses on first, stepping out from behind the folding divider to twirl and model each one. She settled on a black ruffled dress patterned with red roses.

As you stepped behind the divider to try on your choices, the consultant explained that she wanted to give you an elegant, yet understated look. You immediately fell in love with the second dress you tried on. It was a sleeveless halter, with delicate straps across the open back. The skirting was flowy, and the bottom hem skimmed the floor. A high slit on the one side made the fit comfortable to move in. It was a beautiful deep plum color in a glistening metallic fabric. Thankfully, none of the dresses had prices on them. You didn’t think you could stomach knowing how much they cost.

You stepped out to show Iris and her mouth dropped open. “That’s the one! Wow, y/n, you look gorgeous!” she exclaimed.

“Thanks!” you beamed back, doing a little twirl yourself to show off.

The two of you left the store with your dresses packed neatly in garment bags for you. You felt like the whole experience had been a whirlwind. Iris offered to have Jared drop you off, since you had taken the subway to meet her. You agreed, thinking it would be less hassle with the long bag you now had to carry.

Once home, you reheated some leftovers Ignis had dropped off for you earlier in the week and settled in to catch up on some TV shows. As you relaxed on the couch, Kupo curled up in your lap purring away, an idea popped into your mind. After a quick internet search on your phone and browsing through a few online stores you found exactly what you were looking for - a set of silver skull cuff links to match the necklace you had bought him for his birthday. It wasn’t exactly equivalent to him buying your dress, but the thought of giving him them excited you all the same.

You knew Ignis was going to be over Noct’s until late, so you waited until after 11:30 that night to message him.

 **Y/n:** Are you home yet?

 **Ignis:** Just got in. Give me a few minutes to put my things away.

 **Y/n:** K

As you waited for him you tried your dress on again. It was even more beautiful than you had remembered from trying it on in the shop. The metallic fabric caught the light perfectly.

 **Ignis:** All settled. So, I hope you found something you like?

 **Y/n:** I did! And again, you really are too much, you know

 **Ignis:** I couldn’t imagine why you would say that about me ; - )

 **Y/n:** Really, though, thank you again. You are too good to me. Would you like a sneak peek?

 **Ignis:** Certainly.

You snapped a picture of the open back from over you shoulder in the mirror and sent it to him.

 **Ignis:** Quite exquisite, although I actually prefer you in nothing at all...

 **Y/n:** I think that would be frowned upon in public, probably even a crime against the Crown on Citadel grounds?

 **Ignis** : Perhaps, but nothing is illegal in the confines of my bedroom afterwards.

 **Y/n:** Hmmm... that sounds enticing, perhaps we could just skip the Gala all together?

 **Ignis:** Haha. No such luck on that.

You sent him a frowning face in response. You started undoing the zipper to your dress when your phone buzzed again.

 **Ignis:** I really cannot wait to get you out of that dress. You have me quite hot and bothered at the moment.

You paused at his last message. He must be really hot and bothered to have sent you a text that licentious.

 **Y/n:** Do you need me to come over to help you out with that?

 **Ignis:** As much as I’d like to take you up on the offer, it is quite late. I suppose I’ll just have to take care of it myself : /

Thinking of him touching himself to thoughts of you was really starting to turn you on as well. You finished undoing the dress and let the halter fall down in the front. You pushed your breasts up, the nipples barely covered, and took a selfie of them. Your bravery faltered for a second. Hurriedly, you hit the send button before you could change your mind.

 **Y/n:** A little bit of help for you

There was a bit of a pause before he responded.

 **Ignis:** Gods you are so gorgeous. If I were bolder I would send you a video of what you are making me do to myself right now.

 **Y/n:** Well, on that note, I am going to take a nice long, hot shower. You seem to have put me in a bit of a predicament myself. o _O Good night, Iggy

You tossed your phone to the side of your bed and made your way to the bathroom to make good on your last words to him.  
                    ____________

The day of the Summer Gala had finally arrived. You had made arrangements to meet Iris at her house, so you could help each other get ready. Ignis agreed to drop you off there in the morning. He and Gladio had some errands to run for Noct, so it would be perfect timing.

Ignis helped you carry your bag and dress in as Iris bounded down the steps to greet you. She took the garment bag from Ignis with a look of scorn on her face.

“Hey now! You aren’t supposed to see the dress yet!” she chastised him taking your things back upstairs.

You and Ignis shared a brief knowing glance at each other, recalling the heated messages that you had sent each other revolving around it.

Gladio was making his way down the steps past her. “Jeez, Iris. It’s a gala, not their wedding.” Iris stuck her tongue out at him in response.

You gave Ignis a quick peck on the lips before following her upstairs. “See you guys later!” you said waving to them as they left.

Iris showed you around their expansive house and introduced you to the two cats they owned. After bonding with them for a few minutes, the two of you helped each other do your nails and played around with different hairstyles and makeup before eating a light lunch.

As the two of you ate, you laughed as you looked through a photo album she had pulled out. It was always funny to see people you knew as young children and Gladio was no exception. He was actually quite gangly as a little boy. She paused for a moment on a picture of herself when she was just a toddler, an older woman kneeled beside her, helping her unwrap a birthday present.

“Is that your mom?” you asked gently.

She touched her face on the picture and nodded. “It’s hard to look at pictures of her sometimes. I didn’t for the longest time because it made me so sad, but then I was afraid if I didn’t, I wouldn’t remember what she looked like.”

You were always afraid of saying the wrong thing to comfort people, so you chose to put your arm around her instead. You couldn’t even imagine losing one of your parents at such a young age. Your own scare with your father’s illness was enough to deal with even at your age.

Iris sighed and wiped an escaped tear away. She stood up to take her dishes to the sink and put a smile back on her face. “Come on, let’s go get ready for real, now!”

A few hours later, the doorbell rang, and Iris made her way down the stairs to the door to answer it. You packed away your makeup and hair products and tidied up her bathroom as she let Ignis in.

“Hi Iggy!” you heard her exclaim. “Come on in! I like your hair, by the way!”

“Good day, Lady Amicitia,” he said to her as you heard the door close. “This is for you.”

“Oh, how pretty! Thank you!” Iris said as you walked down the stairs into the living room. She showed you the corsage on her wrist that he had given her as you sat the box with Ignis’s gift aside on an end table.

“How sweet!” you smiled.

You made your over to him and noticed what had prompted Iris’s comment. He had fixed his hair quite differently than usual. It was spiked high off his forehead in the front. You thought how incredibly handsome and more mature the style made him look.

Noticing you staring at it, he said, “I hope it looks ok. I used to wear it like this when I was younger and thought I would try it again for tonight. It was a bit shorter then, however.”

“I really like it. You look so handsome,” you said tugging on the knot of his tie to bring him close for a quick kiss on the lips.

He huffed out a small laugh and his gaze softened a bit. “Well, everyone’s eyes will be on you tonight, anyhow. You look simply breathtaking.” He moved his arm out from behind his back to give you the bouquet of white roses he was hiding. “It is customary for the ladies to carry flowers with them to their table.”

“Oh, they’re beautiful!” you said as you brought them to your nose to smell them. You noticed a small box tucked inside and looked up questioningly at him.

He feigned a confused look, “I wonder how that could have got in there?”

You tsked as you sat the bouquet down on the nearby table and pulled the box out. Opening it, you saw it was a necklace with two small, intertwined hearts lined with diamonds. “It’s lovely,” you said as you pulled it from the box. “Thank you!”

“I thought it would look nice with the earrings I got you. Here, let me,” he said, taking it from you to open the clasp and place it around your neck.

Iris came over to inspect it as well. “Oh! It’s so pretty!”

Your heart sunk a bit when you thought of the cuff links you had yet to give him. It was the thought that was supposed to count, but you still couldn’t help but feel they were meager in comparison for what he had done for you. You moved to get the box and returned to him with it.

“And I wonder how this box with your name on it ended up in the room,” you gently mocked him.

He took it from you and gingerly opened it as he spoke, “Whatever this is, you know it wasn’t necessary.”

“I know,” you said with an anticipatory smile as you watched him pull out the cuff links.

“Oh!” he exclaimed. “Wherever did you find these? I love them!” He sat the box down to put them through the button holes on the sleeves of his dress shirt that were showing past his jacket.

“They match your necklace. I’m glad you like them!” you said taking his wrist to get a better look at one.

“Thank you,” he smiled, leaning in to give you a deep kiss. The two of you broke it off with a grin when you heard Iris giggling.

“Well, we should be on our way. I expect traffic to be rather heavy going into the Citadel,” Ignis announced. He helped you to the car with your things, and the three of you made your way into the city.  
                    ____________

As Ignis drove down the main street past the front of the Citadel, all of you groaned at the sight of the media and people lining the sidewalks trying to get a glance at the arriving dignitaries and celebrities. Thankfully, Ignis had the clearance needed to park in the reserved royal court lot, so you were able to bypass getting caught up in that debacle.

The three of made your way through a few private passages and finally stepped off an elevator onto the ballroom level. Iris bolted off to the main table set aside for King Regis, Noct, and the other high-ranking members of the royal entourage. She quickly started chatting with Noct as Ignis ushered you along with an arm around your waist. For the first time in a while, the feeling of not belonging in Ignis’s life bubbled to the surface. You were just common born and felt like you were truly nothing in the scheme of all of this.

Your anxiety grew when you realized that Ignis had escorted you to the table directly beside theirs. Thankfully, Iris came back over to you to announce her father had given her permission to sit with you for dinner. You breathed another sigh of relief when Noct wandered over with Prompto in tow behind him. Somehow, the blonde’s presence had escaped you until now. He was always able to lighten up any situation.

Prompto whistled at you and snapped a photo with his ever-present camera. “One for your wallet, Iggy!” he laughed. “Nice hair, by the way!”

Noct gave you a polite smile as the three guys stood and talked, catching up with each other. Ignis gave you a look of worry behind their backs when he noticed you nervously picking your fingernails. You managed to give him a small smile and a shake of your head to dismiss his concerns. You just needed to calm yourself back down a bit more and you would be fine.

Iris started talking to you and was pointing out different people that she recognized. A few of them were famous actors who had turned out for the event. The primary purpose of the Summer Gala was to fundraise for various charities throughout the city.

A waiter stopped at the table with a tray and you accepted some hors d'oeuvres from him. Ignis finally wandered off to get each of you a glass of wine. The room had slowly filled to capacity as guests continued to arrive and mingled with each other, the orchestra playing lightly in the background.

Ignis made his way back to the table with your drinks and took his seat beside you. You couldn’t help but stare at him, his swept-up hair had managed to make him look even more refined than you already thought possible. As you sat back in your chair and took a sip of your wine, you realized how having him by your side was the most comforting thing in the world to you.

You noticed a small retinue of Crownsguard members, including Gladio, entering the room. They took their posts around the room and main table. One of the head council leaders clinked his glass loudly with a spoon to gather everyone’s attention. He continued on to make a droning speech about the current state of Insomnia, while thanking everyone for attending. No wonder Ignis was so drained when he had meetings all day. This one’s voice alone was enough to put any one of the Gods into an eternal slumber. Ignis seemed to have lost interest as soon as he opened his mouth, and instead chose to move his hand under the table to give your leg a squeeze. You rested your hand on top of his.

Applause pulled you from your daydreaming, as you realized they had announced the entrance of King Regis. The clapping faded away as everyone moved to stand and either bow or curtsy as he moved to his table. With a warm smile he then asked everyone to please take their seats.

He also spoke to thank all of those that came and praised all that was being done to protect the city and prolong the current, yet tenuous peace. You were struck by how powerful, but kind his voice was. You could see a lot of him and Noct in each other. Applause again filled the air as he announced dinner to be served and took his seat.

Besides Prompto and Iris, an elder council member and his wife dined at your table. Ignis introduced you and the couple commented on young love and the such to you. Iris wrinkled her nose and Prompto snapped another photo of you and Ignis together. You made sure to time it right and turned to plant a kiss on Ignis’s lips at the moment the shutter clicked. That earned you a thumbs up from the blonde.

The food was quite an elegant fare, nothing but the best was served that evening. Waiters were around frequently to refill wine and water for everyone. Once the food was finished and plates were cleared, they announced the first dances of the night, one of which being for the royal court, their retainers, and council members.

“That would be us, darling,” Ignis said as he placed a hand on your shoulder.

You looked at him with a paling face and an almost comical look of shock. “You didn’t tell me we had to dance in front of everyone!” you said in a harsh whisper.

“Of course I didn’t. I figured there was no sense in you working yourself up ahead of time for just a few minutes out of the evening.” He tried to give you his best ‘forgive me’ face but dropped it as soon as he realized you were truly frightened. “Come now, you just have to follow my lead and look at me. It isn’t any type of formal dance, just slow dancing. Forget anyone else is even here,” he reassured you in a soothing tone. He stood and reached for your hand, which reluctant and trembling, you gave to him.

The two of you made your way to the floor as you focused all your efforts on remembering to breathe. The last thing you needed was to pass out. As the music started, the two of you embraced, and as promised, Ignis led you well enough that you could focus on him and not your fumbling feet.

“I suppose dancing was in your studies growing up?” you asked him.

That earned you a small chuckle, “Yes, that and all the other fun things that go along with it like table etiquette, appropriate attire for social gatherings, social faux pas, proper ways to address royalty from around the world...”

You laughed back, interrupting him. “Sounds like quite the bore. At least this skill came in handy for you.”

“Indeed,” he said, looking into your eyes. “I’m so happy that you are here with me tonight. I want everyone to know what you mean to me.”

You searched his eyes back. “Likewise,” you finally said, biting your lip. You almost asked him if it was a social faux pas to passionately kiss your dance partner in front of everyone. As nervous as you first were, you found yourself quite disappointed when the song came to an end.

“Now that wasn’t so bad now, was it?” Ignis asked you as you stepped off the dance floor.

“I suppose not, but I wouldn’t object to another drink after that,” you replied eying up a waiter with a tray of champagne glasses headed your way.

“Fair enough,” Ignis said, taking a glass for each of you as the lady passed by. “Drink up, I have a few people to introduce you to.”

Your eyes widened a bit as you almost choked on your first sip. “You are trying to do me in tonight, aren’t you?”

“Just testing your strength of spirit, as I like to see it,” he jested back to you. He took your hand and led you back to the area of the head table. Several on duty Crownsguard members, including Gladio, were on high alert on either side.

Noct and Prompto were playing away at a game of King’s Knight like it was just a break in between classes at school, while Iris tried to talk Noct’s half-listening ear off about some flowers she found growing in the park outside the Citadel.

King Regis and Clarus were standing and enjoying a drink and light conversation as they watched the floor open to the main guests to dance and mingle. Ignis was leading you in their direction. You unconsciously pulled your hand back when you realized he intended to take you over to them.

Ignis turned to you and gave your hand a squeeze. “You already met Clarus. If you were able to handle him, King Regis is nothing,” he whispered to you.

You nodded and straightened yourself up as Ignis wound his arm through yours. Clarus noticed your approach and gestured in your direction to the king.

Ignis dropped his arm from yours and bowed. “King Regis, if I may, I’d like to introduce you to y/n.”

King Regis’s eyes met yours with a warm smile as you remembered to curtsy to him. “Pleased to meet you,” he said extending his hand to you.

“And to you the same, your majesty,” you smiled back as he gently shook your hand. Gods I hope I don’t sound like as big of an idiot as I feel like right now, you thought.

Clarus nodded to you. “I already had the grace of meeting this young lady quite a few months back, December, I think?”

Ignis nodded.

“I do believe the two of you were on your first date?” he continued.

“Yes, we were,” Ignis answered as he took your hand with a squeeze.

“So, I have heard rumors of your budding love,” the king spoke up. This drew a blush from you that he was quick to chase. “Good rumors, of course.” His looked turned somewhat nostalgic as he continued. “It’s good to see that the two of you have been able to find love in each other. Especially, you, Ignis.” Now it was his turn to blush. “I often have felt guilty at the burden that has been laid upon you so early in life. To see you be able to ground yourself in something outside that makes me happy. I can only hope that you two remain at each other’s side no matter where life ends up taking you.”

King Regis trailed off on the last words as you realized his gaze had fallen on Noct, who was now posing for a picture with an overly ecstatic Iris. He snapped out of what seemed to be a reverie and turned back to the two of you. “Go on now, go enjoy yourselves tonight. It won’t do to stand around here with us old folk reminiscing of times past.”

“Yes, your majesty,” Ignis bowed again.

You followed suit with another curtsy, “Yes your majesty, thank you for your kind words.”

“See, again, that wasn’t so bad, right?” Ignis said when you were out of earshot, pulling you close with an arm around your waist.

“No, it wasn’t,” you sighed. “But you’re still going to owe me,” you joked as you poked his ribs with a finger.

“Hmmmm, I wonder just what you could come up with?” he said a little too suggestively back to you.

You cocked an eyebrow at him. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” The two of you laughed at each other as you made your way through the crowd to get across the room to the open bar.

What seemed to be a lifetime later, you and Ignis finally escaped the onslaught of nosy people wanting to be introduced to you and sat down at the bar. Ignis ordered each of you another glass of wine and looked at his watch. Neither of you cared to join the fray on the now lively dance floor, and the thought of mingling any more made you cringe.

As you sipped your wine, you saw Gladio approach with Noct and Prompto in tow. Both looked utterly bored out of their minds. “I’m taking Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella home before one pricks their finger and the other loses their shoe.”

“Hey! I’m offended!” Prompto exclaimed at Gladio’s insult.

Noct snorted in response. “Well, you did almost lose your shoe dancing like an idiot back there.”

Prompto crossed his arms and blew his hair out of his eyes in response.

Gladio spoke again, giving Ignis a knowing look. “Why don’t you two take off, too?”

Ignis bristled a bit. “It’s still a bit early. It would be rude to leave without a good reason.”

Gladio just rolled his eyes. “You really think anyone still here is more concerned about the two of you than they are about climbing up the social ladder?”

Ignis looked around the room. “I suppose you are right,” he conceded.

Gladio shot a quick text and before you knew it, Iris was bringing you your flowers and Ignis his jacket that had been left behind at your table. “There. Now you have no excuse for a quick, unnoticed escape,” he said pointing to the back exit leading to an elevator down.

Iris pouted as you said your goodbyes to her, but you promised to go shopping or out to dinner with her again soon. You said goodbyes to everyone else as you parted ways in the parking lot. You noticed Gladio giving Ignis a cheesy grin.

“Well, then, shall we go back to my place?” Ignis asked as you got in the car.

“Of course,” you agreed. “I do believe you still owe me one. I think a foot massage is in order.” You sighed in relief as you dramatically took your heels off and propped your feet up on the dashboard.

Ignis feigned disgust and rolled his window down, waving his hand under his nose.

“Hey now!” you teased back. “They don’t smell that bad!”

The two of you chatted on the short drive, as you asked him who a few other familiar looking faces were.

He pulled into his parking spot at the apartment building, and you got out, deciding to brave the pavement in your bare feet instead of putting shoes back on your sore feet. When Ignis saw, you gave him a shrug. “It’s not far to walk.”

The next thing you knew, you were slung up over his shoulders, watching the car grow smaller as he made his way into the building. You couldn’t help but laugh as you playfully slapped his back in feigned resistance. “Hey! What are you doing?”

“It won’t do to have my lady getting her feet dirty, now would it?” He said in his most chivalrous tone, eliciting another laugh from you. His strength caught you off guards at times, you mused as he carried you effortlessly across the parking lot. Your thoughts were interrupted by a hand caressing your buttocks. Oh, now this is hot, you thought to yourself.

“Now that’s not very proper!” you laughed, the desire in your voice betraying your protest.

Ignis gave your cheek a harder squeeze as he turned his back to the main door to push it open with your help. He plopped you ceremoniously down on your feet. “Neither is a lady without shoes,” he said with a grin.

You smirked back and turned to race him to the elevator. Once inside, the two of you stole a few kisses from each other on the ride up to his floor.

You sighed when you entered his apartment. It was nice to finally be alone with him in the peace and quiet of his place. It had been a few weeks since you were able to be together like this, but for the first time in a while, the two of you now stood timid in front of each other. It was as if you were reading each other’s minds about what was likely to happen tonight and you fed off each other’s insecurity.

He finally moved to you, pulling your body against his and tilted his head down to draw you into a kiss. His tongue pushed into your mouth and danced with yours. When he broke the kiss, he moved his lips to your ear and spoke as if sharing a secret.

“I can’t wait to undress you tonight.” His breath on your earlobe made the hair on your arms rise. As an afterthought, he quietly added, “I bought condoms.” He pulled his face back, searching your eyes with some concern.

Your heart fluttered at the insinuation. You had already decided before this night that you were ready to give yourself to him. “Yeah?” you finally managed in a weak voice.

Ignis unconsciously licked his lips. “After the last time, I thought it’d be best to be prepared. I’m not implying that we have to tonight, I just...”

“I want to,” you said breathily, interrupting him. You looked into his pale green eyes through his glasses and watched as his pupils dilated. “I want you to make love to me tonight.”

He drew in a sharp breath at your words. “Gods, how I’ve wanted to hear those words come from your mouth.” His lips crashed back to yours, all apprehension gone from you both. You ran your hands up under his jacket and he shrugged himself out of it. You grabbed his tie teasingly and started to pull him towards the bedroom by it. By the time the two of you made it there, a trail of clothes lay in your wake, your beautiful dress undone by him in the hall and left pooled on the floor. Ignis pulled his socks off last as he clamored onto the neatly made bed. You wriggled out of your panties and joined him. You realized with amusement that the only thing the two of you had on were the necklaces you had gifted to each other.

He slid up to the pillows as you crawled up to him on all fours. He had an almost feral look in his eye as he watched you.

You straddled him as he leaned up to cup your breasts, taking a nipple into his mouth to suckle on it, nipping it with his teeth occasionally. His attention to your nipples could get you surprisingly aroused. You could already feel yourself getting wet. “Iggy,” you finally sighed, and he released the bud with an indecent sucking sound.

He removed his glasses and reached to set them on the side table as you slid down on him to take his cock in your hand. It was already incredibly hard. He stilled your wrist with his hand almost immediately. “I’m afraid I won’t last very long if you start doing that.”

You removed your hand from him and moved back up to kiss him. The thought that he was already so close to orgasm only helped to make the heat between your legs grow.

He moved a hand of his own between your legs and pushed a finger between your folds and slid it into you. You leaned back with a gasp. You expected him to rub your clit, not penetrate you with his finger so quickly. The anticipation that his cock would be inside you soon instead, set your legs to trembling.

He chuckled. “It seems you aren’t in much of a better state yourself.”

He pulled his finger out of you and you instantly yearned for that sensation again. You sat back and took in the sight of him sprawled underneath you. His carefully coiffed hair had wilted, and his bared eyes bore holes through you with their lust. Your look roamed over his perfect skin, scattered with pale moles, pulled taut over his collar bones, pecs, and down his lean abdominals, to settle on his erection lying up across his groin between your legs. You wondered at how it was even possible to feel so completely in love with someone.

He sat up and pulled you against his chest and into a deep kiss as your arms roamed over each other’s backs. You wound your fingers through the back of his hair and fisted the strands, making him break the kiss with a soft moan. He looked you in the eyes as he spoke. “Are you certain this is what you want? We can’t go back from here.”

You nodded. “I am more than certain. I want to be yours.” Your look became slightly concerned. He had sought your consent all this time but hadn’t mentioned his own. “Is this what you want?” You bit your lower lip.

He reached a thumb up to gently pull it back out of your mouth and moved his hand to stroke your jaw. “It is more than what I could ever want. I never dreamed in my life that I would be so blessed as to be with someone as perfect as you.” He moved his lips to yours for a few open-mouthed kisses.

“Iggy, I love you so much. You are the one that’s too perfect for me.” You moved your hands to either side of his face as you pulled him into a deeper, tongue-laden kiss. He unconsciously ground himself into your thigh, pulling each of you back to act at hand.

He slowly moved you off himself and sat on the side of the bed. He rummaged in the drawer of his nightstand and pulled out a condom. You reminded him again that you were on birth control now.

“I still want to use these. You can never be too careful,” he said turning his head to speak to you.

You hummed your agreement as you sat up behind him and leaned your chin on his shoulder to watch. His cock stood proudly between his slightly spread legs. His hands had a slight tremor to them as he tore the wrapper open. You trailed some kisses down his neck and moved your hands on his back to reassure him. He pinched the tip and rolled the remaining latex down his length. He then sat for a moment as he collected his composure while enjoying your kisses and touches.

He moved his legs back on the bed and positioned your bodies so he was between your legs. You let yourself relax back into the pillows and felt his tip graze your entrance. A slight ripple of apprehension went through you. You were really doing this, you thought. You and Ignis were going to have sex. You drew in a deep breath when you realized you had been neglecting to do so. He moved down on his elbows to kiss you, your tongues intertwining, and then rested his forehead on yours.

“Are you ready?” he asked your consent.

You leaned up and pulled his lower lip in your mouth with a kiss. “Yes,” you said against his mouth.

Slowly he pushed inside you with a shaky breath. “Gods,” he shuddered when he was fully inside you. You gasped at the overwhelming intimacy of the feeling. He was audibly trying to control his breathing as he lay still on top of you.

“Iggy?” you voiced your concern. Was something wrong? you thought.

“A moment,” he answered breathlessly. After gaining his composure, he let out an embarrassed chuckle. You realized that he must have been trying to stifle a premature orgasm. “I almost ruined everything. You feel so good around me. Gods, I still don’t know if I’ll last long.” He was practically panting again, his words working both of you back into a fervor.

You caught his lips in another deep kiss. “And you feel so good _in_ me. Please, move,” you begged him, giving your hips a weak thrust up as you kissed him again. He obliged and started to experimentally roll his hips into yours. You broke from his mouth with a gasp and pushed your head back into the pillow. You felt impossibly full with him inside you now that he was moving. He pushed up on his hands again and continued his slow, careful pace. You closed your eyes and turned your head to the side to let out a strangled moan. The friction felt incredible. When you turned your head back to him, his eyes were intensely on yours and you met each other’s lips again while he continued moving in you. He broke the kiss with a moan that went straight between your legs. He looked to you again and said, “I love you so much, y/n.”

Your breath was ragged now, and you spoke between breaths. “Iggy... Gods, I love you too.”

You wrapped your legs around him and started chasing his thrusts with small ones of your own. You felt like he was holding back, afraid in some way he’d hurt you, or perhaps come too soon, you weren’t sure which. It was too much of a tease now that you were in this dance together. You wanted him to let go with everything he had and thoroughly take you. “Please...please, Iggy. Faster, harder...please,” you said between breaths, your fingers clawing at his taut arm muscles on either side of you.

Your words made him gasp. “Alright,” he agreed as he wriggled to brace his legs into the bed better. He laid the full weight of his chest on you, as you kissed up his neck to suck his earlobe into your mouth. He started pushing into you again, hard enough to move you up towards the headboard with each thrust. As he picked up his pace, he moved his arms under you to curl up around your shoulders in an effort to hold you in place. You could feel your release build to a breaking point as he kept hitting this spot in you over and over again.

He whimpered into your neck, “I’m so close, I don’t think... I can’t hold it back any longer.”

You felt a pang of disappointment that he couldn’t hold on any further, you were so close yourself. At the same time, though, you felt even more aroused that you had driven him so far past his normally impeccable self-control.

You felt his thrusts start to stutter and you shoved your hand between the two of you to furiously rub your clit. You were still determined to try to get an orgasm out of your first time with him. He thrust into you a few more times before burying himself as far into you as he could, moaning out your name. He buried his head between your neck and shoulder, his heavy breaths coming in time with the waves of his own release wracking his body. The idea that his seed was spilling inside you, albeit in a condom, drove you over that edge you were chasing. Your orgasm caused you to clench down on his stilled cock as he kissed you through your gasps and moans.

Ignis continued to lie on top of you as both of your breaths slowly relaxed and became more regular. He slowly pulled out of you, causing you to whimper at your oversensitivity. He moved to roll off you but had to stop for a moment - your necklaces had become entwined with each other’s during those final heated moments. You both chuckled lightly as he carefully untangled them. He got up briefly to remove the condom. After tying it off and discarding it in the trash, he returned to the bed. He pulled the covers down and you made your way under them with him.

The two of you laid face to face on your sides as he caressed your cheek, searching your eyes with his. “I’m sorry I didn’t last longer for you.”

You kissed him gently back with reassurance. “Don’t ever apologize, that was amazing. In the end, you losing your composure turned me on more than anything, knowing that I did that to you.”

He let out a huffed laugh that sounded a bit more relieved than he intended. “It was quite incredible, I do have to say.”

The two of you shared a few more kisses and compliments before slumber overcame you. You weren’t quite sure who fell asleep first, but in each other’s arms, it came all too easy.  
                    ____________

You awoke the next morning, alone in Ignis’s bed. It took a moment to orient yourself before you realized exactly where you were. As you felt the now cold wetness between your legs you remembered what happened the night before and your chest warmed. As you sat up to stretch, you smelled the undeniable scent of bacon wafting through the half-closed bedroom door.

You got up and realized that you had no change of clothes with you. You slipped your panties back on and made do with a button up shirt of his that was folded over a chair in the corner. It hung loosely on you as you fastened just the top few buttons in a hurry. Both the need to see Ignis this morning and your now growling stomach spurred you on.

Ignis stood over the stove, moving the now crispy bacon to a paper towel lined plate, as he stirred the eggs he was scrambling. His hair was an absolute mess and he was in a T-shirt and sweatpants. He had never looked more attractive to you. You paused for a moment to study him and think about how much you loved him. You couldn’t even begin to fathom life without him. A pot of coffee was just finishing on the counter. He turned to you with a bit of surprise as you shuffled towards him.

“I didn’t expect you up so early. I was going to surprise you with breakfast in bed,” he said, faking a pout.

You hummed disappointedly. “I can go back to bed if you like?”

With both hands he fisted the top of his shirt on you and pulled you against himself. “Hmmm. Tempting, but I’d hate for all this food to go cold.” He kissed you deeply, as you wrapped one of your legs around the back of his. As the kiss broke, you swiped a piece of bacon and coyly popped it in your mouth.

“Me too,” you exclaimed as you made your way to the coffee to pour two cups.

The two of you made small talk over breakfast and you decided to make a quick stop at your apartment later to change out of his borrowed clothes before you went out for lunch. After cleaning up the dishes, you suggested you could use a shower. Ignis offered for you to go first, he would tidy the bedroom while you washed.

“It would be a shame to waste water like that,” you said as he got a clean towel from the closet for you. “It would also be a waste of time to make the bed so early in the day, you know.”

He caught on to your insinuations and smiled devilishly. “I suppose you do have valid points, there.”

He turned the water on in the shower. As the bathroom began to steam, you unbuttoned his top and slid it off yourself, panties joining it on the bathroom floor. Ignis admired your naked body and then quickly made work of his clothes. Once in the shower, the two of you took turns washing each other. As you trailed the suds covered washcloth down his abdomen, you noticed his cock was half-erect. The strong urge to finish waking it up with your mouth made you drop to your knees in front of him and take it in, tongue rolling around the head.

Ignis tilted his head back as he gasped loudly. He pushed his fingers through your hair as the water from the shower rained down on you. He let you continue for a few minutes and then tugged you away from himself. He pulled your hand up and guided you back to your feet. “I want to make love to you again.”

Your lips collided frantically into each other’s as he reached behind you to turn the water off. You both toweled off quickly and made your way back to the bed.

The morning sun filtering in through the blinds made you more aware of your nudity than the night before and made you feel a bit self-conscious for a few moments.

As quickly as that feeling came, it faded into boldness at your next thought. You wanted to be on top this time. You desperately wanted to control the pace and watch him break underneath you. You were even willing to sacrifice your own orgasm this morning for the simple sight of it. “Lay down,” you instructed him. He listened to you and watched intently as you walked up beside the bed.

You opened the drawer you remembered him getting in the night before and pulled out a condom. You climbed on the bed with him and moved down to eye up his erection.

He looked at you with a mixture of confusion and concern. “Already?”

He was obviously more than ready by the state of his hardness and the thoughts of the act alone had you aroused enough. “Right now, I just want you back in me so bad,” you said as you tore open the wrapper. “Just thinking about it is enough.”

You circled your hand around the base of his cock as he watched, all words seemingly gone from his vocabulary. You pinched the tip of the condom how you remembered he did and rolled the rest of it down the length.

As you sat back on your heels to admire your work, he reached his hand down to you to encourage you to move on top of him.

You straddled him as he pushed himself up further on the bed to half sit against the pillows. He instinctively took hold of your hips as you guided yourself over his tip and lowered yourself slowly down onto him. It almost burned as his cock pushed into you, and you started to regret rushing things along. To your surprise though, you quickly accommodated to the sensation and your wetness helped to ease him further in. You slowly began to move, swaying your hips forward to guide yourself up and down on him.

He stared at your body with an admiring look as you gradually increased your pace.

As you ground your hips up and down, his hands moved to start playing with your breasts that were moving in front of his face. He pinched your nipples and the first jolts of an impending orgasm rippled through you. You let out a small sob of pleasure. He looked into your eyes, his so dark with lust that he didn’t even seem himself at the moment. He curled his lips with a low growl as he took hold of your hips, fingers digging tightly into your skin. He started to thrust up in you, causing you to gasp and moan again, and he moved one of his thumbs between your legs and started circling your clit with it.

You remembered what his tongue felt like on you down there and you had trouble keeping your pace steady. You held him down by his shoulders and ground yourself into him, trying to hit every spot that would push yourself over that teetering edge. Ignis let out another growl, this time in frustration, as he tried to thrust harder, chasing his own pleasure. His vocalization final pushed you over the edge as you sobbed through your climax.

When you opened your eyes, you could have sworn Ignis had turned into a coeurl with the feral expression that was on his face. He had let you ride out your orgasm on him, but now quickly flipped you onto your back and sunk himself into you again with a moan. He laid his chest on top of you, clinging to you as if his life depended on it. His thrusts were quick and hard. You were still overly sensitive from your release and could do nothing more than encourage him on with kisses and moans interlaced with his name. He finally thrust hard one last time as his body shuddered out some combination of a sob and your name.

He collapsed on top of you and placed soft kisses up your neck as your breathing calmed. He rolled off you and discarded the condom on the floor beside the bed for the time being.

You held the covers up for him to roll back into and the two of you laid facing each other in an embrace. You ran your fingers down his cheek, admiring his features and kissed his lips lightly. “I wish we could stay like this forever,” you said softly.

Ignis hummed in agreement. “That would be the perfect wish to have come true, now, wouldn’t it?” He rolled onto his back and you moved to place your head on his chest. His heartbeat was the most peaceful sound to listen to. “For now, though, it wouldn’t hurt to pretend it was reality.”

The two of you drifted back off to sleep, not really caring much about the plans you had discussed for the day over breakfast.  
                    ____________

You were working at your computer Monday morning when Hallie came over to give you the waivers from the tours from the week before.

“You look glowing today,” she smiled at you with a slight wink.

You raised your eyebrow at her. Was it really that obvious or was she just fishing for a response?

“You did, didn’t you?” she implied.

You huffed with a bit of some shyness. “Maybe...”

Her smile grew. “Lunch is my treat today. We’ll go to the sandwich shop down the street and you can tell me all about it.”

You shook your head at her. “I don’t usually kiss and tell, but I might make an exception for you.”


	14. The Convergence Part 2

The sound of rain hitting off the glass paneled door leading out to Noct’s balcony was enough to almost lull Ignis to sleep. Almost. The sound of the prince alternating between tapping his pencil in annoyance and then him furiously tapping out texts to Prompto on his phone made him want to want to say the hell with it and leave Noct on his own to study through the revisions to the tax laws that were to be instated the following year.

Ignis understood it was the last thing that a 19-year-old wanted to be doing on a Friday night, but if he was to be king one day, he had to be kept abreast of everything. Even though Ignis was the one attending most of the meetings, it was the prince’s voice and opinions he carried with him. Ignis sat his glasses on the table as he rubbed his eyes with his palms, both in frustration and to try to wake himself back up.

“Unless Prompto has suggestions on how to better implement the changes that are being proposed, I suggest you bid him goodnight for the time being,” Ignis said barely suppressing his irritation.

Noct rolled his eyes and slid his phone away, turning up the volume on the music coming from the device as he did so. Ignis sometimes felt like he was more a parent than a friend in times like these and it displeased him as much as he was sure it irritated Noct.

With a sigh he put his glasses back on and went out to the kitchen to get them a cup of coffee that had just finished brewing and announced they should take a break. He returned to the dining table and passed a mug to Noct as they made their way to the living room to sit on the couch.

“So, is y/n coming to the Gala with you?” Noct asked nonchalantly as his sipped his coffee.

Ignis smiled into his mug. “Mmm hmm.”

Noct laid back on the couch as he fired up his King’s Knight app on his phone and threw his feet up in Ignis’s lap. Ignis eyed up his half-full mug that was now on the floor beside the couch in apprehension of having to clean up a spill.

“Ha! You know Prom and I set you two up as more of a joke than anything. Never thought you two would fall for each other that hard.”

“Well, I suppose neither of us truly expected it either. Sometimes I feel like I’ve known her for lot longer than just the short time we’ve been together. I feel like we knew each other in another life sometimes, it’s just too perfect...” Ignis trailed off when he realized how sappy he was getting and straightened up and fidgeted with his necklace as he stared straight ahead.

“Soul mates,” Noct said, causing Ignis to turn his face to him.

“Hmm?” he questioned.

“You know, like the Astrals give everyone a soul mate that is only for them, and then it’s up to you to find them. Maybe you two where just lucky enough to have found each other so easily...” Noct said as he tapped away at his phone.

Ignis just stared at him in thought for a few moments. There was some truth in what he spoke. “Perhaps,” he responded, and he leaned over to set his empty mug on the coaster on the coffee table.

“I’m really happy for you,” Noct said as he tapped through the finishing screens of the stage he just played. He looked up to Ignis. “I mean it. You’ve done so much for me. We both know I haven’t always been the most appreciative about it,” he shrugged and continued. “I want you to have a life besides me. It’s not fair to you otherwise.”

“Noct, you know that you will always come first in my life.” Ignis straightened up and moved his legs off him to make the prince sit up and look at him. He had been able to suppress his insecurities over having any long-term relationship with you, but the bitter feeling in his throat started to resurface. “Just because I have a girlfriend doesn’t mean my duties to you will falter. I...”

Noct cut him off. “I don’t expect them too, Iggy. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. A lot of people have important jobs and duties in their lives and the still have families to go home to. That’s what I want for you. I want you to have a family of your own. Hell, someday that’s going to be expected of me.” Noct paused long enough for Ignis to pick up on some sadness. He knew what Noct was thinking, Prompto unfortunately wasn’t what was expected of him. Ignis almost wanted to protest the fact that _that_ wasn’t fair, but Noct continued with a laugh. “I can see it now. Our kids sneaking through the halls of the Citadel together.”

Ignis couldn’t help but groan and laugh at that thought himself. “I think I’d rather not dwell on that thought too long.”

The two of them laughed and continued to reminisce on their own misadventures as children, the papers on the tax laws forgotten for the evening.  
                    ____________

While you were spending the day with Iris at the brunch and spa, Ignis was in the downward spiral of an absolutely horrid day. He started his day off by spilling his last can of Ebony on both himself and the kitchen floor, necessitating a last-minute change of clothes and a thorough mopping. An accident on the highway had him detour through half the city to get the Citadel. He wasn’t even scheduled to be there that Saturday, but because an incompetent clerk had misplaced the report he had typed for Cor regarding a meeting he attended about the allocation of funding for new Crownsguard weapons, he was now on his way back to retrieve the document from his work computer. Getting a text from Cor at 3 a.m. was not how he wanted to start his day. He wondered if the man was even human. Didn’t he sleep? And who cares about things like that at that ungodly hour?

With the reprinted report on Cor’s desk, he locked up his office and went to the parking garage to head over to Noct’s for the day. As he approached his car he realized that someone had sideswiped it, leaving long gouges on the side. The black paint of his car was flecked with the perpetrator’s white. He scoured the area for a security camera only to see the one that could have caught the act hanging pathetically by a frayed wire. He only hoped the rage that was building in his chest would still be there on Monday when he confronted the manager of the Citadel’s parking authority. He would have to deal with his car later, but it irked him to have to drive it around in such a state of disrepair.

He arrived at Noct’s apartment and left himself in. Noct was supposed to be spending a rare day with his father, so Ignis had planned on getting his cleaning and cooking done quickly without the prince’s presence as a distraction.

He toed his shoes off in the entry hall and made his way into the open kitchen/living room area to be greeted by the biggest disaster he quite possibly had ever seen in his life. Noct was never the neatest person and quite often took advantage of the fact that Ignis would pick up after him, but this was above and beyond. Clothes, books, fast food bags, and dirty dishes were strewn everywhere. He wondered if the carpet was even still in existence under the piles of refuse. It looked like he had attempted to make spaghetti earlier in the week, a pan of half burnt pasta was still on the stovetop. How that was even possible would puzzle Ignis for the remainder of his life. As he moved further into the kitchen, he noticed it looked as though a jar of sauce had spilled down the front of the counter and onto the floor. It was half wiped up, the remainder dried hard where it was left. The microwave door stood open, the contents of something had obviously exploded all over the interior and had likewise dried beyond any point of easy cleanup.

“You have got to be bloody, fucking kidding me,” he said out loud with a sardonic laugh.

He hadn’t even seen the bathroom or bedroom yet. He had half a mind to just go home and leave Noct a note that he could just live in his own filth until he was moved back into the Citadel under Ignis’s recommendations. Unfortunately, his thoughts were crueler than his conscience was able to be. After an attempt to calm himself down, he resigned to spend the rest of his afternoon cleaning up the mess.

Hours later, the prince’s apartment looking and smelling much better than earlier, Ignis flopped himself down at the kitchen table. His back hurt from bending to pick up garbage and scrubbing half the surface of the place. He hadn’t even attempted any meal prep and had decided he quite frankly didn’t care what Noct’s diet consisted of this week. He got in his wallet and left a handful of bills on the table with a note that Noct would have to ration it for his meals that week. He knew he would end up spending it all on pizza and snacks by midweek and then call him begging for a home cooked meal. He would deal with that inevitability when it came, for now he just wanted to leave.

He was able to get home long enough to shower and change into clothes that didn’t feel filthy, before he received a text from you asking if he wanted to go out for dinner. He truly wanted to crawl in bed and forget the day had happened but found it too hard to turn you down. A half an hour later, he met up with you at a small Galahadian restaurant in your neighborhood. He hardly bothered to comb his hair and just changed into jeans and a T-shirt.

He was about ready to tell you not to even ask about his day and current state, when you questioned why he had come out if he was looking so tired and ragged.

“Because some days, being with you is better than just throwing in the towel,” he spoke the truth, cupping your hand from across the table. He could already feel his blood pressure going down just by seeing your face and hearing your voice. “Plus, I could really use a drink,” he chuckled. He wasn’t even messing around with beer or wine tonight. He went for straight liquor and ordered a whiskey on the rocks. Thankfully you didn’t question his day any further. He really didn’t want to talk about any of it at the moment. He could fill you in on it’s gory details later.

While the two of you were eating, you mentioned to him that you were going to help Iris pick out her dress for the Gala the following weekend. He remembered your insecurities of not having the money to buy a suitable dress and he questioned whether you had found one for yourself yet.

When you told him that you hadn’t, he thought up a brilliant idea. All he needed to do was to get Gladio to find out the name of the dress shop from Iris and he could call ahead to put in your reservation under his credit card. He smiled at you and reassured you that you still had plenty of time to find one.

As he drove you back to your apartment after dinner, he had to struggle to keep his eyes open. You had suggested that he come in to relax a bit more before going back to his place. He knew what you were insinuating and felt horrible to turn that down, but he was really just too exhausted.

He sheepishly admitted it aloud and regretted it when he glanced at the pout on your profile. He eyes roamed down to your chest for a moment and he thought how your bare breasts felt in his hands.

When he pulled in front of your apartment building to drop you off, you lingered a bit before you leaned over and gave him an incredibly passionate kiss. He was half tempted to leave his car parked in the fire lane and take you up on your offer. His day had already been one for the record, why not add a parking ticket, he thought.

His rational side finally resurfaced, and he declined again. He would never make it home if he followed you inside.

“Alright, sleepy head. Go to bed. I’ll talk to you tomorrow?” you said, shaking your head at him with a laugh.

He chuckled. “If I don’t lapse into an irreversible coma tonight, I’ll call you.”

You leaned forward to give him one final kiss and he watched as you walked into the building trying to hide your dejection.  
                     ____________

Late the following Saturday evening, Ignis stopped by a convenience store near his apartment on his way home from Noct’s. It was late, but he had to pick up a few household items that he needed.

It had been entirely too long of a day. He had been called in for some afternoon meetings that had failed to wrap up the day before. Why they couldn’t wait until Monday was beyond him. He ended up not getting to Noct’s for his usual Saturday chores until almost 7 p.m. He was anxious to get home and text you some more. You had gone with Iris to the dress shop that day and from your brief message earlier, it had taken you quite by surprise.

As he walked through the small store with a basket in hand, he remembered he had been wanting to pick up some condoms. He suddenly felt self-conscious and chided himself for it. Plenty of people had to buy them, or else the population of Insomnia would have outgrown its borders decades ago. After grabbing some milk and toilet paper, he made his way down the health aisle to the display of contraceptives.

He sighed at the selection in front of him as he vaguely heard the electronic beep of the door opening at the front of the store. Of course they couldn’t make this simple, he thought. There must have been a dozen or more choices in front of him. As he stood contemplating, he heard someone shuffle down the opposite aisle and he resisted the urge to bolt. He noticed a large figure move around the corner and stop to stand beside him. He finally dared to turn to look at them.

There stood Gladio, with the biggest shit eating grin Ignis had ever seen on his face.

“I swear, you have the most impeccable timing,” Ignis said sarcastically as he turned back to the display. Of course he would have to run into someone he knew the first time he bought these. And for it to be Gladio of all people, was even better. Was it this hot in here before? he thought, feeling sweat run down his back

Gladio grabbed a box for himself as he pointed to another one beside it. “Those ones are pretty good,” he said.

Ignis tossed the box in his basket. They seemed as good as any of the other choices and the sooner he could get out of here, the better. “I suppose I’ll trust your judgement.” Astrals knew he had probably used quite a few to be an authority on them.

Gladio raised an eyebrow at him, but Ignis was too tired to get drawn into whatever debauchery his mind was thinking of.

“Goodnight, Gladio.” Glancing at the box of Magnum’s in his hand, Ignis added, “Do have some fun this weekend.”  
                    ____________

Ignis had just entered his apartment and sat the grocery bag down on the dining table when his phone went off.

 **Y/n:** Are you home yet?

 **Ignis:** Just got in. Give me a few minutes to put my things away.

 **Y/n:** K

He finished putting his groceries away and made his way to the bedroom, dropping the toilet paper off into the bathroom closet. He sat on his bed and sat the box of condoms on his nightstand as he answered you.

 **Ignis:** All settled. So, I hope you found something you like?

 **Y/n:** I did! You really are too much, you know.

 **Ignis:** I couldn’t imagine why you would say that about me ; - )

 **Y/n:** Really, though, thank you again. You are too good to me. Would you like a sneak peek?

 **Ignis:** Certainly.

He laid back on the bed as he waited for your photo. He contemplated practicing putting on a condom when he was done talking to you. He knew in theory how they worked but had never seen one in person.

Your picture finally came through. You had taken it over your shoulder, using a mirror so he could see the open back. It looked lovely on you and the color was perfect. His cock had already stirred at his plan for the condom and the sight of your bare back only further roused it.

 **Ignis:** Quite exquisite, although I actually prefer you in nothing at all...

 **Y/n:** I think that would be frowned upon in public, probably even a crime against the Crown on Citadel grounds?

 **Ignis:** Perhaps, but nothing is illegal in the confines of my bedroom afterwards.

 **Y/n:** Hmmm... that sounds enticing, perhaps we could just skip the Gala all together?

 **Ignis:** Haha. No such luck on that.

You sent him a frowning face in response. Quite frankly he would rather skip the Gala himself and spend the entire day locked in his bedroom with you. He palmed his erection through his pants at the thoughts.

 **Ignis:** I really cannot wait to get you out of that dress. You have me quite hot and bothered at the moment.

 **Y/n:** Do you need me to come over to help you out with that?

 **Ignis:** As much as I’d like to take you up on the offer, it is quite late. I suppose I’ll just have to take care of it myself : /

He unzipped his pants and freed himself, moving his hand down the length and back up it to circle the head. He wished it wasn’t so late. Your mouth could do a better job on him than his hand. His phone buzzed, and he expected another text, but you had sent another photo instead. It was of your breasts almost bared, practically spilling from the top of your dress you had pulled down.

 **Y/n:** A little bit of help for you

He groaned a bit as he gave himself a couple of faster strokes at the image in front of him.

 **Ignis:** Gods you are so gorgeous. If I were bolder I would send you a video of what you are making me do to myself right now.

 **Y/n:** Well, on that note, I am going to take a nice long, hot shower. You seem to have put me in a bit of a predicament myself. o _O Good night, Iggy.

He sighed as he sat his phone beside him on the bed, leaving up that last picture you sent as ‘a little bit of help’.  
                    ____________

The day of the Gala had finally arrived. Ignis had offered to take you over to the Amicitia house to get ready with Iris. He and Gladio had agreed to help Noct get ready for the Gala after they ran a few errands.

Ignis helped you carry your dress in, while you got a couple of bags from the backseat. An excited Iris bounded down the steps to greet the two of you as you came in the house.

“Hey now! You aren’t supposed to see the dress yet!” she chastised him, taking the dress and running back upstairs.

Ignis gave you a sideways glance you that you returned. Oh, he had seen the dress alright, he thought. He recalled the pictures you had sent him the night you had got it.

Gladio was making his way down the steps past her. “Jeez, Iris. It’s a ball, not their wedding.” Iris stuck her tongue out at him in response.

You gave Ignis a peck of a kiss. “See you guys later!” you said waving to them as he and Gladio headed out to his car.

Gladio and Ignis chatted as they headed across town to pick up Noct’s tuxedo from the rental shop.

“So, did you guys practice making babies yet?” Gladio said nonchalantly, just as Ignis was bringing a can of Ebony to his lips.

He sputtered and almost choked on it, spilling some of it down his shirt. “Really, Gladio? Could you have at least waited until I swallowed?”

Gladio smirked. “Heh, that’s what she said.”

Ignis rolled his eyes at him as he pulled up to a red light and got some napkins from the glovebox to wipe his shirt. At least it was dark grey and hopefully wouldn’t show the coffee stain.

“No, we haven’t.” Ignis thought about ending the conversation there, but thought more on why Gladio was so hell bent on knowing about his sex life. Perhaps bonding with him a bit over this wasn’t such a terrible idea. “Perhaps tonight, if things go right and she wants to.”

“Yeah?” Gladio responded, his interest piqued. “Well, I want the scoop next week if you do.”

Ignis chuckled and shook his head.

“Don’t be surprised if if things don’t go how you expect your first time,” Gladio reminisced. “There’s so much shit going on in your head. And at the same time, you’re trying not to come as soon as you stick your dick in her. Ha, and then women don’t always orgasm easily that way too. My first time I thought I was a complete failure because I couldn’t make her come. Found out a few times later that playing with her clit while we were going at it was her ticket home.”

Ignis had pulled into a parking spot outside the tuxedo store while Gladio rambled on. He had killed the engine and sat staring at Gladio with some disbelief at the ease he talked about this. He was sure his cheeks had reddened. He truly hoped Gladio didn’t expect him to give that much detail in return.

“I get your point, Gladio,” Ignis interrupted him.

Gladio roared with laughter realizing Ignis’s embarrassment. “Right, one step at a time.”

After picking up Noct’s tux, they made their way over to his apartment to get ready. Ignis half expected Prompto to be there, but then remembered they had agreed it would be best for them to arrive separately. As accepting as everyone immediate to him was of the relationship, the press and the rest of Insomnia might not be. It angered Ignis that people could be so closed minded.

Ignis helped Noct into his tux and then changed into his suit himself. Gladio was on duty that evening and had changed into his formal dress uniform.

Ignis eyed his hair up in the bathroom mirror and thought about trying to spike it up again like he had when he was younger. He had been sporting this conservative mop for long enough, he thought. His previous attempt a few months back had failed. Perhaps his hair was too long? He watched Noct run some product through his hair to get his usual spikes to stay in place.

“Could I use some of that?” he asked.

Noct gave him a shocked look and handed him the container. “Sure, Specs.”

He hesitated for a moment, contemplating the best form of attack.

“Here,” Noct interrupted him, taking the container back. “How do you want it to look?”

“I wanted to spike it up in the front, like I did when we were younger. I think it’s too long, however,” Ignis sighed.

“Nah,” Noct encouraged him. “Sit down, I got this.”

Ignis sat on the closed toilet lid as Noct set to work on his hair. It was an odd feeling to have someone else doing this for him, especially the prince. He finished it off with a copious amount of hairspray. “There. That should stay for most of the evening.”

Ignis looked in the mirror and was thoroughly impressed. “Perfect! Now you must show me what you did.”

Noct laughed and explained his techniques. Gladio made his way back to the bathroom to see how getting ready was going and whistled at Ignis.

“Sharp!” he said with an eyebrow wiggle. He turned his attention to Noct. “If Prince Charmless is ready, we should probably be on our way. Your dad wanted you there early in case the media needed some comments.”

Noct rolled his eyes and slumped. “Yeah, yeah. Let’s get going.”

Ignis stayed behind for a few minutes to tidy up and then made his way to his car. He had one more stop before he went to pick you and Iris up. He had ordered a bouquet of white roses for you. It was customary that the ladies had one to bring to their table at the Gala.

After picking it up, he drove over to the Amicita residence and parked on the street out front. He picked up the bouquet wrapped in purple paper and pulled out a small box from his pocket. He had found a necklace for you that he had been holding on to for tonight. It was two small diamond circled hearts intertwined with each other. He was sure you would both love and chastise him for it. He couldn’t wait to give it to you. He placed it just inside the bouquet where you could obviously see it. He had also picked up a small corsage for Iris, so as not to leave her out.

Ignis walked up to the front door and rang the bell. As he waited for an answer, he marveled at how quiet this part of the city was. It was far enough removed from any major roads that you couldn’t hear a bit of the incessant traffic present elsewhere.

He was about to ring the bell again when Iris finally pulled the door open.

“Hi Iggy!” she exclaimed. “Come on in! I like your hair, by the way!”

“Good day, Lady Amicitia,” he greeted her with a smile. As he shut the door, he handed her the little box with the corsage it it. “This is for you.”

“Oh, how pretty! Thank you!” she said, pulling it out and putting it in her wrist. It was made from the same white roses as your bouquet. Ignis watched as Iris walked over to show you as you came down the steps. You looked stunning, he thought, eyeing you from head to toe. The dress was a perfect match for you body and the way you had fixed your hair and makeup had you glowing. And all he had to show tonight was a trendier hairdo.

“How sweet!” you smiled.

You started to make your way over to him and he noticed you staring at his hair. It made him self conscious for a moment. “I hope it looks ok. I used to wear it like this when I was younger and thought I would try it again for tonight.”

“I really like it. You look so handsome,” you smiled as you tugged on the knot of his tie to bring him close for a quick kiss on the lips.

He huffed a small laugh in relief and blushed a bit. “Well, everyone’s eyes will be on you tonight, anyhow. You look simply breathtaking.” He moved his arm out from behind himself to give you the bouquet he was hiding. “It is customary for the ladies to have flowers to carry with them to their table.”

“Oh, they’re beautiful!” You brought them up to your nose to smell them and saw the small box tucked inside. You gave him a look with a raised eyebrow.

He put on his best innocent look. “I wonder how that could have got in there?”

As he expected, you tsked at him as you sat the bouquet down to pull the box out. He watched as you opened it and pulled the necklace out. “It’s lovely,” you said meeting his eyes with a warm smile.

“I thought it would look nice with the earrings I got you. Here, let me,” he said. He took the delicate chain from your hands and brought it around your neck to clasp it in the back.

Iris came over to inspect it as well. “Oh! It’s so pretty!”

“Thank you,” you said as you turned back to him. You leaned in to give him another kiss, breaking it off when you heard Iris giggling.

You held you finger up to pause him for a moment as you went over to one of the end tables. You returned with a small box of your own that you handed him, a tag with his name in your scrolling handwriting on it.

“And I wonder how this box with your name on it ended up in the room,” you jokingly mocked him.

Now this caught him off guard. He hadn’t expected in the least that you would have gotten him anything. He gently opened the box as he spoke, “Whatever this is, you know it wasn’t necessary.”

“I know,” you said, watching him with anticipation as he looked inside and pulled out a set of cuff links. They were silver skulls in a similar fashion to his necklace. They were perfect, he thought.

“Oh!” he exclaimed. “Where did you ever find these? I love them!” He sat the box down and put them through the button holes on the sleeves of his dress shirt showing through his jacket.

“They match your necklace. I’m glad you like them!” you said as you took one of his wrists to inspect it closer.

“Thank you,” he smiled, leaning in to give you a deep kiss. The two of you broke it off with a grin when you heard Iris giggling again.

“Well, we should be on our way. I expect traffic to be rather heavy going into the Citadel,” Ignis announced. He helped you to the car with your things, and the three of you made your way into the city.  
                    ____________

Ignis was thankful he had clearance to park in the reserved royal court lot and could avoid having to enter the Citadel through the main entrance. The three of you agreed that going in that way was too much, what with all the dignitaries, celebrities, and paparazzi flitting about.

You took a few back passageways to get up to the ballroom level. As you stepped off the elevator, Iris took off into the main room to eagerly chat up Noct. He was sitting at the main table set up for him, the King, and the other high-ranking nobles. Ignis slipped an arm around your waist to guide you at his side.

He could feel you tense as you made your way past the table to the one directly beside it. Iris came back over and mentioned that her dad had given her permission to sit at your table for dinner. Noct also made his way over towing Prompto behind him. He heard you let out a sigh and watched as you visibly relaxed a bit.

Prompto whistled at you and snapped a photo with his ever-present camera. “One for your wallet, Iggy!” he laughed. “Nice hair, by the way!”

You sat down at the table with Iris and had taken some hors d’oeuvres from a passing waiter. As Ignis stood chatting with Noct and Prompto, he noticed you were doing your nervous habit of picking your fingernails. He made eye contact with you with a slight look of concern on his face. You were normally so confident, especially since you had befriended everyone. You gave him a small smile and a shake of your head in reassurance. He watched as you quit fidgeting with your fingernails and started a conversation with Iris.

As the chatter in the room grew loud enough to drown out the sound of the orchestra, Ignis realized that the room had almost filled to capacity. Breaking off the conversation with Noct and Prompto, he made his way to the open bar to get you each a glass of some better wine than what the waiters were carrying around.

He made his way back to the table and handed you your glass as he took his seat beside you. He was so insanely proud to have you at his side this year. He wanted to make sure that everyone knew you were his and how in love with you he was.

Gladio and some of the other Crownsguard members on duty that night entered and took their positions around the room. One of the head council leaders clinked his glass loudly with a spoon to gather everyone’s attention. Ignis had to suppress groaning out loud. The man could turn a 5-minute presentation into a full blown, whole day affair. As he continued on to make a droning speech about the current state of Insomnia, Ignis slid his hand under the table to give your leg a squeeze. You gave him a glance out of the corner of your eye and moved your hand on top of his.

Thankfully, the man’s speech ended sooner than Ignis had anticipated and they announced the entrance of King Regis. Applause rang out as everyone moved to stand by their seats, the men bowing and women curtsying. He finally asked everyone to have a seat and began his speech, his customary warm smile on his face. He extended his thanks to everyone who had donated to all the various charities being supported that night and also praised all that was being done by the Kingsglaive, Crownsguard, and citizens to protect the city and prolong its current, tenuous peace. Ignis noticed a slight frown line appear at his mention of the latter, but it quickly dissipated. Applause began again as he announced dinner to be served and took his seat.

Besides Prompto and Iris, an elder council member and his wife dined at your table. Ignis introduced you and the older couple made some comments about young love and began to reminisce between themselves. Prompto snapped another photo of you, including Ignis in it this time. You turned at just the right moment to plant a kiss on his lips. Prompto gave you the thumbs up. Ignis just shook his head at the two of you.

The food was quite delectable that evening. Ignis made some mental notes on the seasonings he suspected they used on the meat so he could try to recreate the dish at home. As the dinner wrapped up and the plates were cleared from the tables, they announced the first dances of the night, one of which being for the royal court, council members, and retainers.

Ignis had almost forgot about this part. He had decided it would be best to spare you from the anticipation and had ‘neglected’ to inform you about it. “That would be us, darling,” Ignis said as he placed a hand on your shoulder.

You looked like he had just told you that you had committed high treason and were to be executed in front of everyone. Ignis found your overreaction somewhat comical. “You didn’t tell me we had to dance in front of everyone!” you said in a harsh whisper with wide eyes.

“Of course I didn’t. I figured there was no sense in you working yourself up ahead of time for just a few minutes out of the evening.” He tried to give you his best rendition of puppy eyes but dropped it as soon as he realized you were truly frightened. “Come now, you just have to follow my lead and look at me. It isn’t any type of formal dance, just slow dancing. Forget anyone else is even here,” he reassured you in a soothing tone. He stood and reached for your hand and noticed it was trembling.

He guided you out to the floor, giving your hand reassuring squeezes along the way. The music started up and the two of you embraced. As promised he led you through the dancing so all you had to do was focus on him. Now that you were more relaxed, it was quite nice to have you in his arms in front of everyone.

“I suppose dancing was in your studies growing up?” you asked him.

Ignis chuckled in remembrance of all the etiquette classes he had to attend, “Yes, that and all the other fun things that go along with it like table etiquette, appropriate attire for social gatherings, proper ways to address royalty from around the world...”

You laughed back, interrupting him. “Sounds like quite the bore. At least this skill came in handy for you.”

“Indeed,” he said, looking into your eyes. “I’m so happy that you are here with me tonight. I want everyone to know what you mean to me.” It wasn’t as if he could just roam around the Citadel one day and profess his love of you to everyone who would listen.

You searched his eyes back. “Likewise,” you finally said, biting your lip. He wanted to reach up and pull it back out of your mouth. Quite frankly, if it wouldn’t have been completely against all etiquette, he would have loved to replace it with his tongue as well. The music finally came to an end, much to his disappointment.

“Now that wasn’t so bad now, was it?” Ignis asked you as you stepped off the dance floor.

“I suppose not, but I wouldn’t object to another drink after that,” you replied. He noticed you eying up a waiter with a tray of champagne glasses.

“Fair enough,” Ignis said, taking a glass for each of you as the lady passed by. “Drink up, I have a few people to introduce you to.” He also ‘neglected’ to let you know this plan of his as well. It wouldn’t do have you at his side tonight without introducing you to the king. Perhaps he should have brought a Phoenix Down for you, he thought in hindsight. If you had the same reaction as you had to the dancing, you might just pass out.

Your eyes widened a bit as you almost choked on your drink. “You are trying to do me in tonight, aren’t you?”

“Just testing your strength of spirit, as I like to see it,” he jested back to you. He took your hand and led you back to the area of the head table. Several on duty Crownsguard members, including Gladio, were on high alert on either side.

As he guided you to the back of the room, you passed Noct and Prompto, playing away at a game of King’s Knight like it was just a break in between classes at school. Poor Iris was chatting away as Noct half listened to her. Ignis wished Noct would indulge her crush on him at times, but then again, he could understand why he wouldn’t be that interested in some flowers she found growing in the park outside the Citadel.

He saw that King Regis and Clarus were standing, enjoying a drink and light conversation, as they watched the floor open to the main guests to dance and mingle. Ignis lead you in their direction and he felt your hand pull back when that reality hit you.

Ignis paused to turn to you and give your hand another squeeze. “You already met Clarus. If you were able to handle him, King Regis is nothing,” he whispered to you.

He watched you mentally compose yourself and he wound his arm through yours and continued over to them. Clarus noticed your approach and gestured in your direction to the king.

Ignis dropped his arm from yours and bowed. “King Regis, if I may, I’d like to introduce you to y/n.”

He scrutinized King Regis’s eyes as they met you with a warm smile. As you remembered to curtsy him, he glanced over to Ignis with a slightly larger smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Ignis internally felt a sigh of relief. This was going to be the closest he was ever going to get to introducing you to his family. Even though his uncle worked at the Citadel, he felt closer to the king than to him. “Pleased to meet you,” he said extending his hand to you.

“And to you the same, your majesty,” you smiled back as he gently shook your hand. Ignis tried to judge your reaction as well. He couldn’t quite tell if you were still composed or if you were going to suddenly run out of the room to vomit. When you didn’t want your emotions read, you could turn them off quite well. As a tactician, it had always impressed him.

Clarus nodded in your direction. “I already had the grace of meeting this young lady quite a few months back, December, I think?”

Ignis nodded his agreement.

“I do believe the two of you were on your first date?” he continued.

“Yes, we were,” Ignis answered as he took your hand with a squeeze. You squeezed it back. At least you were still responsive, he thought.

“So, I have heard rumors of your budding love,” the king spoke up. “Good rumors, of course,” he quickly corrected himself. His look grew nostalgic as he continued. “It’s good to see you two have been able to find each other’s love. Especially, you, Ignis.” Now it was his turn to get a bit self-conscious. “I often have felt guilty at the burden that has been laid upon you so early in life. To see you be able to ground yourself in something outside that makes me happy. You have always been there for Noctis, you deserve to have someone there for yourself now. I can only hope that you two remain at each other’s side no matter where life ends up taking you.”

Ignis noticed that King Regis’s gaze had moved to Noct, who was now posing for a picture with an overly ecstatic Iris. He snapped out of what seemed to be a daydream and turned back to the two of you. “Go on now, go enjoy yourselves tonight. It won’t do to stand around here with us old folk reminiscing of times past.”

“Yes, your majesty,” Ignis bowed again.

You followed suit with another curtsy, “Yes your majesty, thank you for your kind words.”

“See, again, that wasn’t so bad, right?” Ignis said when you were out of earshot, pulling you close with an arm around your waist.

“No, it wasn’t,” you sighed. “But you’re still going to owe me,” you joked as you poked his ribs with a finger.

“Hmmmm, I wonder just what you could come up with?” he said suggestively back to you. He could think of more than a few things himself.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” you said coyly to him. The two of you ended up laughing at each other as you made your way through the crowd to mingle and get across the room to the open bar.

After what seemed like an eternity later, both of you finally escaped the grasps of people wanting to be introduced to you and took your seats at the bar. Ignis ordered another glass of wine for each of you and checked the time on his watch. 9:30 p.m. He was entirely uninterested in mingling any more at this point and he was quite sure you had had your fill as well.

As he sat there enjoying his wine, he saw Gladio approach with Noct and Prompto in tow. As expected, they looked entirely bored out of their minds. “I’m taking Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella home before one pricks their finger and the other loses their shoe.”

“Hey! I’m offended!” Prompto exclaimed at Gladio’s insult.

Noct snorted in response. “Well, you did almost lose your shoe dancing like an idiot back there.”

Prompto crossed his arms in irritation and blew his hair out of his eyes in response.

Gladio spoke again, giving Ignis an all too obvious knowing look, “Why don’t you two take off, too?”

“It’s still a bit early. It would be rude to leave without a good reason.” He wanted to leave more than anything, but it wouldn’t do to come off as inconsiderate.

Gladio just rolled his eyes. “You really think anyone still here is more concerned about the two of you than they are about climbing up the social ladder?”

Ignis looked around the room and noticed Gladio was right. Most of the people left were either wannabe celebrities, or people trying to gain favor for political office. “I suppose you are right,” he finally conceded.

Gladio shot a quick text and a moment later, Iris brought you your flowers and Ignis his jacket that had been left at your table. “There. Now you have no excuses for a quick, unnoticed escape,” he said pointing to the back exit leading to an elevator down.

Iris pouted at you as you said your goodbyes to her, but you promised to go shopping or out to dinner with her again soon. Ignis had been quite glad that the two of you were getting along so well. It would do Iris good to have an older sister figure to look up to.

The rest of the goodbyes were said in the parking lot as Gladio led Noct and Prompto to his car. Gladio gave Ignis a bigger grin as he glanced at you getting in the car. He gave him the thumbs up. Ignis just rolled his eyes and bid him goodnight as well.

“Well, then, shall we go back to my place?” Ignis asked as you got in the car.

“Of course,” you agreed. “I do believe you still owe me one. I think a foot massage is in order.” He watched as you removed your shoes and sighed loudly as you propped them up on his dashboard.

Ignis feigned disgust and rolled his window down, waving his hand under his nose.

“Hey now!” you teased back. “They don’t smell that bad!”

He pulled into his parking spot for his apartment and walked around to your side to help you with your things. He noticed that you hadn’t put your shoes back on and you gave him a shrug.

“It’s not far to walk,” you protested.

Without hesitation, Ignis hoisted you up over his shoulder. The last thing he needed was for you to cut your foot on something on the way in. As he made his way toward the building, you started laughing.

“Hey! What are you doing?” you said as you playfully slapped his back.

“It won’t do to have my lady getting her feet dirty, now would it?” he said in his most chivalrous tone, eliciting another laugh from you. He realized that your buttocks were just beside his face and couldn’t help but bring one of his hands up to caress them.

“Now that’s not very proper!” you laughed. The desire in your voice betrayed your joking.

Ignis gave your cheek a harder squeeze as he turned his back to the main door to push it open with your help. He sat you ceremoniously back down on your feet. “Neither is a lady without shoes,” he said with a grin.

You smirked back and then turned to race him to the elevator. Once inside, the two of you stole a few kisses from each other on the brief ride up to his floor. His fantasy of taking you up against the wall in one came to mind. If he could only find one without a camera to record the debauchery, he might just be bold enough to do so one day.

Ignis pulled out the key to his apartment, unlocking the door and holding it open for you to enter. Anticipation was buzzing in his head. It had been a few weeks since the two of you were alone together. He wanted to make love to you so badly tonight, but couldn’t quite get himself to find the right words to ask you without seeming pushy. He wanted it to come unsolicited from your lips. For the first time in a while, the two of you stood timidly in front of each other.

He drank in the sight of you and remembered the heated texts the two of you had shared in regards to getting you out of that dress this evening. He moved to pull you to himself, tilting his head down to kiss you. You granted his tongue access and he savored the taste of you. Breaking the kiss, he moved his lips along your ear to speak.

“I can’t wait to undress you tonight.” He felt you shiver with his words. “I bought condoms,” he added hastily, wanting you to know they were there if needed. When you were quiet for a moment, he pulled back, searching your eyes with some concern that he had gone too far.

You finally responded with a soft “Yeah?”. Your eyes had darkened slightly.

Ignis felt the need to explain his motive to you. As much as he wanted to, his still didn’t want to do anything you weren’t ready for yet. “After the last time, I thought it’d be best to be prepared. I’m not implying that we have to tonight, I just...”

“I want to,” you said, interrupting him. Ignis felt his breath stop for a moment. “I want you to make love to me tonight.”

He remembered to breathe again, drawing in a sharp inhale at your last words. He could feel the blood rush to his head... and other places. “Gods, how I’ve wanted to hear those words come from your mouth.”

He crashed his lips back to yours as you ran your hands up his chest to push his jacket off. He barely shrugged it off the rest of the way before you were tugging him by his tie back towards the bedroom, pausing to remove articles of clothing along the way. In the hall outside the bedroom he made good on his promise to slip your dress off. He could feel his cock twitch at the sight of you bared almost naked between him and the wall. He wanted to take you right there in the hallway but turned you and urged you through the door. He finished pulling his socks off as he made his way onto the bed, turning to see you shimmying out of your panties to join him.

He slid himself up to the pillows and watched as you crawled up to him on all fours like a feral cat. You moved to straddle his lap and he had to restrain himself from grabbing your hips and grinding himself up into you. He settled, instead, on cupping your breasts and leaning up to take one into his mouth. He sucked the nipple, pausing now and then to nip lightly on it. He had learned you squirmed and made the most delicious noises when he played with them. You finally pleaded his name out loud, causing him to pull off of you with a crude suckling sound.

He removed his glasses, which were askew on his face now, anyhow, and sat them on the side table. He ran his hand through his wilting hair as he watched you move down along his body and take his cock in your hand. He was almost painfully hard already. There was no way he’d last more than thirty seconds if you started stroking him, let alone what he knew your mouth could do. He grasped your wrist to still you. “I don’t want to rush things, but if you continue that, I’m afraid I won’t last.”

You pulled your hand off him and moved back up to draw him into another kiss. He wondered how aroused you were at this point. He had read somewhere that sex was painful for women if they weren’t fully prepared. He moved his hand between your legs and was met with a copious wetness he wasn’t expecting so soon. His finger easily slid into your entrance as you leaned back with a gasp.

He said with amusement, “It seems you aren’t in much of a better state yourself.”

He withdrew his fingers from you, earning a small huff of dissatisfaction. He let his eyes roam over your body as yours did his. He was mesmerized by the movement of your breasts as your chest rose and fell heavily. His sight lingered on you and he thought how beautiful you looked with your reddened cheeks and mussed hair. His gaze finally rested on yours as the two of you searched each other’s eyes.

“I want you inside me,” you said between breaths.

Ignis sat up and pulled you to his chest as you sat in his lap. He drew you into a deep kiss as each of your arms explored each other’s backs. You wound your fingers through the back of his hair and fisted your hand in the strands. He couldn’t help but break the kiss with a moan. Your assertiveness turned him on even more. As much as he liked ravaging you in his fantasies, he had also had quite a number where you dominated him into a sobbing, moaning mess.

He opened his eyes to look into yours again as he spoke. This was the point of no return and as much as he knew neither of you were turning back, he still needed to hear your consent. “Are you certain this is what you want? We can’t go back from here.”

You nodded in agreement. “I am more than certain. I want to be yours.”

Your look turned to one of concern, worrying him for a moment. “Is this what you want?” you said as you bit your lower lip.

He reached a thumb up to gently pull your lip back out of your mouth and moved his hand to stroke your jaw. He had always known he wouldn’t just throw his virginity away to just anyone. You had become part of his life so completely that he didn’t even have a second thought that you would be the one that he would give it to. “It is more than what I could ever want. I never dreamed in my life that I would be so blessed as to be with someone as perfect as you.” He gave you a few passionate kisses, drawing your lower lip you had been biting into his mouth.

“Iggy, I love you so much. You are the one that’s too perfect for me,” you managed to say between his kisses. You reached up to pull his face into an even deeper kiss, pushing your tongue in to wrestle with his own. His body moved of its own volition, grinding into your thigh. The movement pulled you both back to the impending act.

He needed to get a condom on before the two of you continued anything, he thought. He guided you off himself so he could sit up to get one out of his nightstand drawer. You sat up to remind him you were on birth control now, as well. As tempting as it was to take you bare and spill his seed in you, the thought of something going wrong was enough to almost kill the mood.

“I still want to use these. You can never be too careful,” he said as he turned his head to the side to speak to you.

Thankfully, you hummed your agreement and he turned back to the drawer. As he pulled a condom out, you sat up behind him and rested your chin on his shoulder to watch. Even though he had practiced putting one on, your eyes on him as he did it made him a little nervous. He could see his own hands shake as he tore the wrapper open. Your hands rubbed up his back as you placed kisses down his neck, relaxing him. He pinched the tip of the condom and rolled the length of it down his cock that was standing at attention between his legs. His breathing suddenly increased. He wasn’t sure if it was from excitement or nerves, but he had to sit for a moment to clear his head. He took the moment to enjoy your touches and kisses.

He finally turned to move his legs back onto the bed and guided you down onto your back. He moved over top of you, pushing your legs open a little further with his knee so he could lie between them. He looked down at you relaxing back into the pillows as he pushed his tip close to your entrance. He moved down on his elbows to lay on you as he gave you one more kiss, reveling in the feeling of your tongues intertwining with each other. Soon your bodies would be doing the same dance. He broke the kiss to rest his forehead on yours.

“Are you ready?” he asked you one final time.

You leaned up and pulled his lower lip in your mouth with a kiss. “Yes,” you answered.

He drew in a breath and slowly pushed himself into you. “Gods,” he said with a shaky voice when he realized he was completely in you. You felt incredible and warm wrapped around him. The thought that he was actually inside you almost pushed him over the edge and brought one of his fears for the evening to life. He tried desperately to slow his breathing and tried to think of anything to pull him back from the brink. His thoughts went to a meeting earlier in the week that had dealt with the budget allocation for the city’s water authority.

“Iggy?” your concerned voiced pulled him back to the present.

“A moment,” he answered breathlessly. He finally felt that he had his body back under his own control and let out an embarrassed chuckle. “I almost ruined everything. You feel so good around me. Gods, I still don’t know if I’ll last long.” Voicing his almost traitorous arousal and feeling you now squirming under him started to work him back into a fervor again.

You kissed him hard, pulling back again to speak. “You feel so good _in_ me. Please, move,” you begged.

You weakly thrusted your hips up to encourage him as you leaned up to kiss him again. He gave an experimental roll of his hips, not sure what was going to be the best way to move. You broke your mouth away from his with a gasp and pushed your head back into the pillow. He took that as encouragement and pushed himself up on his hands to get better access to repeat that motion again.

He continued to push himself slowly in and out of you, gauging your reactions. He was afraid he was going to hurt you if he moved too fast too soon. So far, he saw nothing put pleasure on your face, and was reassured further when you turned you head to the side to let out a strangled moan that went straight to his groin. The friction of moving inside you was unparalleled to anything he had ever felt. He watched your parted lips as you panted, and then you turned your clouding gaze back to him. He leaned down as you leaned up to meet him in an uncoordinated kiss. His last thrust sent a spike of pleasure through him and he pulled back with a moan. “I love you so much, y/n,” he said as your eyes met again.

“Iggy... Gods, I love you too,” you said back between shaking breaths.

You moved your legs around him now, pulling him in deeper. Your hips started to meet his as you rolled into his thrusts. “Please...please, Iggy. Faster, harder...please,” you said as you clawed his arms supporting himself on either side of you.

Thank the Gods, he thought to himself. His body was begging him to ravage you into the mattress. “Alright,” he gasped, bracing his legs into the bed to get better leverage. He laid his full weight down on you as you clutched onto his back and shoulders, running kisses up his neck to suck his earlobe into your mouth. The tip of his cock twitched at the familiar feeling of being in your mouth. He started pushing into you again, judging your whimpers as a guide to increase his pace until he was moving his hips hard enough to move you up towards the headboard with each thrust. He put his arms under you to curl up and around your shoulders to hold you in place. .

His thinking started to cloud as he could feel his groin tighten. His thrusting was turning desperate as his body started to betray him again, doing whatever it could to heighten the pleasure it was receiving. He whimpered the admission of his defeat into your neck, “I’m so close, I don’t think... I can’t hold it back any longer.”  
  
You responded with a small groan that he couldn’t tell was from pleasure or disappointment. He felt your hand move between the two of you to furiously stimulate your clit. Thank goodness Gladio had mentioned to him not to feel bad if you needed the extra stimulation to bring on your orgasm. He only wished he could will his own hands to help you.

As his approached his release, he found it harder to keep his pace steady. All of his senses were overly heightened - your free hand desperately grasping at his back, your sobs and moans as he hit a sensitive spot in you over and over, the sight of your breasts moving in time to his thrusts, the smell of sex permeating his room. All of these sensations combined, and his vision blurred as he thrust hard into you one final time, fingers curling tightly into your shoulders. His cock twitched as he felt the waves of his orgasm tear through him. He uncontrollably moaned your name aloud as he buried his face into your neck. As he stilled, he felt a guilt rise that he had allowed himself his release without you coming as well. Before he could dwell on it further, though, he felt your hand still as you pushed your head back with a moan. He felt your body tremble under him as your insides clenched down in waves on his stilled cock. That feeling was incredible despite his own pleasure already being spent. He was determined to make you come first the next time. He wanted the feeling of your orgasm to be the thing to push him over the edge. He peppered you with kisses as your release faded into small sobs and gasps.

Ignis continued to lie on top of you, languidly kissing you as both of your breaths slowed and evened out. He finally pulled out of you, causing both of you to cringe at your over sensitivity. As he went to roll over, he had to pause for a moment. During those final heated moments, your necklaces had become entangled. With a light chuckle he unwound them from each other. He moved off the bed for a moment to remove the condom. After tying it off and discarding it in the trash, he returned to the bed and pulled the covers down. You made your way under them and moved to face him as the two of you lay on your sides.

He reached to your face, caressing your cheek with his thumb. As incredible as the whole act was, it had gone so quickly. He felt some guilt again at not being able to hold out. He searched your eyes as he said, “I’m sorry I didn’t last longer for you.”

You moved in to kiss him, pulling his bottom lip into your mouth, giving it a little nip. “Don’t ever apologize, that was amazing. In the end, you losing your composure turned me on more than anything, knowing that I did that to you.”

Your words brought some relief to his concerns. He let out a huffed chuckle in response. “It was quite incredible, I do have to say.”

The two of you moved closer to embrace each other and shared some more kisses and compliments. Sleep soon overcame him, or perhaps you fell under its spell first. Safe in each other’s arms, it was hard to tell.  
                    ____________

Ignis awoke the next morning to the pale early morning light filtering through the closed blinds. As he shifted to stretch you stirred beside him, halting his actions. He had plans to sneak into the kitchen and make you breakfast if he awoke before you did. Despite not wanting to wake you up, he couldn’t resist sweeping a bit of hair that had fallen across your eyes aside. You thankfully remained still, your deep breathing reassuring him you were still asleep. His chest warmed as he thought of how much he loved you. He couldn’t recall how empty his life must have truly been before you and couldn’t fathom ever being without you in the future.

He studied your face, memorizing every curve, dip, and swell of your features. You had only stayed overnight at either of your places a few times and had awoke together each time. He wanted to take advantage of staring unabashedly at you while he could. He started to recall the night before and almost couldn’t believe it was real, that the two of you had given yourselves to each other. He sat up and slowly slid the sheet down to admire more of your body, resisting the urge to run his hand over your breasts and down the curve to your waist and back up to your hips. He could feel his groin start to tingle and with a sigh, pulled the covers back up over you and got out of bed as softly as possible.

He pulled on a T-shirt and sweatpants and put his glasses on as he headed quietly out to the kitchen. He started a pot of coffee and got out the eggs and bacon and a few other ingredients to start preparing breakfast.

As he stood over the stove, cooking, he thought about what the two of you could do for the rest of the day. He’d love to take you back to bed after breakfast but wasn’t sure if you would be up to it again so soon. Perhaps the two of you could catch a movie and some lunch before he took you home. That last thought made his chest tighten with an unexpected sadness. He hated to think about you going home and being away from him. He wished you could stay again tonight, but you both had to work the next day.

As he moved the bacon that had crisped up to a towel-lined plate to drain, he stirred the eggs as he continued to be lost in his thoughts. He didn’t hear your coming into the kitchen until he heard your feet shuffling up to him.

He turned to you with a bit of surprise, but his gaze softened when he saw you were in his dress shirt from the night before. He supposed it was bad planning that neither of you had thought you should have a change of clothes with you for today. He noted your sleep-messed hair and how wrinkled his shirt was. Only you could make that look so incredibly attractive. He noted you only had the top few buttons done and was somewhat disappointed when he realized you had your panties on. He thought he would have truly lost it if you were completely nude under there.

“I didn’t expect you up so early. I was going to surprise you with breakfast in bed,” he said, playing up his disappointment.

You hummed sympathetically. “I can go back to bed if you like?”

Now that was an enticing idea, he thought, but changed his mind when he remembered the food he was currently cooking. He grasped his shirt collar on you with both hands and pulled you close against himself. “Hmmm. Tempting, but I’d hate for all this food to go cold.” He drew you into a deep kiss and you wrapped one of your legs around the back of his. You abruptly broke the kiss as you swiped a piece of bacon, popping it coyly in your mouth.

“Me too,” you said with your mouth full. You made your way to the coffee pot to pour two cups.

The two of you made small talk over breakfast and you decided you would stay the morning and then head to your place for a change of clothes before going to lunch. After cleaning up the dishes, you suggested you could use a shower. Ignis offered for you to go first, he would tidy the bedroom while you washed.

“It would be a shame to waste water like that,” you said as he got a clean towel from the closet for you. “It would also be a waste of time to make the bed so early in the day, too, you know.”

He caught on to your insinuations and smiled devilishly. “I suppose you do have valid points, there.”

He turned the water on in the shower. As the bathroom began to steam, he watched as you unbuttoned his top and slid it off yourself, panties joining it on the bathroom floor. Ignis admired your naked body for a moment and then quickly made work of his clothes. Once in the shower, the two of you took turns washing each other. He sighed as you trailed the suds covered washcloth down his abdomen. He was about to protest when you stopped, but quickly realized it was because you were now on your knees in front of him, drawing his cock into your mouth.

Ignis tilted his head back as he gasped loudly. He pushed his fingers through your hair as the water from the shower rained down on you. He let you continue for a few minutes and then tugged you away from himself. He pulled your hand up and guided you back to your feet. “I want to make love to you again.”

Your lips collided frantically into each other’s as he reached behind you to turn the water off. You both toweled off quickly and made your way back to the bedroom.

He followed you, watching as the morning sunlight filtered through the blinds and traced lines over your nude body. He resisted the urge to stroke himself at the sight.

“Lay down,” you suddenly instructed him. He obeyed you with curiosity.

Instead of joining him on the bed, you moved over to his nightstand and opened the drawer. You pulled out a condom and climbed on the bed beside him. He noticed you eyeing up his erection. Surely you couldn’t be ready so soon? he thought.

“Already?” He questioned you.

“Right now, I just want you back in me so bad,” you said, tearing open the wrapper. “Just thinking about it is enough.”

He watched as your hand circled around the base of his cock and it twitched in response. Even if he wanted to protest, the part of his brain responsible for intelligent speech was currently not working. He started breathing through his mouth as you rolled the condom onto him.

He wanted to feel the warmth of your body against his and reached his hand down to encourage you to move up to him. He slid up on the bed to sit up against the pillows as you moved to straddle over his lap. He held onto your hips as you slowly lowered yourself down on him. He almost grew concerned when you seemed to be uncomfortable, but the look quickly faded from your face as you slowly began to move.

As you moved into a steadier rhythm, he leaned back and took in all the sensations. You were so tight around him and your swaying pelvis was hypnotizing. You were making soft noises as you moved. He looked down to where you were joined to watch himself disappear into you again and again. He thought about how he wanted to make love to you like this every day.

You tilted your head back, exposing your neck and pushing your breasts closer to him. He let go of your hips to take them in his hands. He pinched your nipples between his fingers and you let out a louder sob that went straight to his cock. He couldn’t handle not being in control any longer. He didn’t even recognize the sound of the growl that came from his own mouth, as he grabbed your hips tightly again. He tried to hold you still as he thrust up, trying to take control of the pace. He remembered you touching yourself last night and moved a thumb down to stimulate your clit. The two of your moans and heavy breaths grew more desperate.

You started to fight him back for control, holding him down by his shoulders and grinding on him more than riding him. He could sense you were getting close and tried to thrust himself into you deeper, partly chasing his own pleasure. He wanted to feel you clench on him again and groaned out loud at the thought.

Something about the last noise he made caused something to break in you. You grabbed his arms as you started to sob, and your legs started to tremble. He pushed his thumb into you harder and you finally climaxed. He savored the sensation of you coming around his cock, the waves of tightness almost drove him to his end, but he somehow managed to let you ride through it.

He watched as your body came down from your high, your chest was flushed and beads of sweat ran between your breasts. He mused at the thought of how “making love” was fundamentally such a carnal act when it was stripped down to its basics.

He snapped when your eyes, heavily lidded from your orgasm, finally opened to meet his. He wanted to fuck you into oblivion but couldn’t bring himself to voice his lewd thoughts out loud to you. He showed you instead.

He quickly flipped you onto your back and sunk himself back into you, moaning and panting like a feral beast. He laid on top of you, pinning you down and clinging to you, as he thrust fast and hard. You encouraged him on with kisses and moans interlaced with his name. His orgasm overcame him as his whole body shuddered. He thrusted into you one final time, moaning some incoherent version of your name as he felt his cock twitch out his release.

He collapsed on top of you and placed soft kisses up your neck. He rolled off you and discarded the condom on the floor beside the bed for the time being.

You held the covers up for him to roll back into and the two of you laid facing each other in an embrace. You ran your fingers down his cheek and kissed his lips lightly. “I wish we could stay like this forever,” you said softly.

Ignis hummed in agreement. “That would be the perfect wish to come true, now wouldn’t it.” He rolled onto his back and you moved to place your head on his chest. He traced circles on your shoulder as he listened to your now steady breathing. “For now, though, it wouldn’t hurt to pretend it was reality.”

The two of you drifted back off to sleep, not really caring much about the plans you had discussed at breakfast.

                    ____________

Monday morning found Ignis impatiently waiting for the elevator to take him up to his office. After what seemed like an eternity he stepped into the vacated car and punched the number for his floor. As he leaned against the back wall as the doors closed, he heard shuffling outside and a large hand stopped the doors from closing.

Gladio stepped in and greeted him with a surprised look. “Mornin’. Gotta tell my dad something before I get to work.”

Ignis nodded in return and could feel the growing smirk on the other man’s face staring at him.

“So, are you going to tell, or do I have to ask?” he questioned.

Ignis sighed internally. He wanted to shout to the world that you were his and he had claimed you, but something about Gladio’s insistence on knowing made him want to deny everything. So he stood tight lipped staring ahead.

“Uh, huh. It was that good that you’re still speechless?” Gladio egged him on. He tilted his head to the side. “Or did she turn you down?”

Ignis finally yielded, knowing that Gladio was relentless when he wanted to be. Still staring straight ahead he answered, “Yes, we did.” After a pause, he added with a small smirk of his own. “Twice.”

The elevator door opened to his floor and Gladio held his hand out in anticipation of a returned fist bump. Ignis shook his head at it with a laugh and walked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short hiatus : /  
> I hope these chapters more than make up for it, though.  
> They are a bit lengthy, so grab some popcorn. Sorry, not sorry ( ˘ ³˘)♥  
> Hopefully it won’t take me as long to get the next chapters up, but I want to do a quick run through on a new game + since the Royal Edition came out. I have too many ideas in my head for upcoming chapters and I hope replaying the game and getting some new bits will help me out.


	15. The Brink Part 1

“Oh. Em. Gee. Your new wheels are sweet!” Prompto gushed, circling the Star of Lucis. The luxury car had been gifted to Noctis by the manufacturer for his 20th birthday.

You weren’t exactly a car aficionado – any look at the sad, old girl you owned proved that, but you had to admit that Prompto was right. The sporty black car was hot and probably just as fun to drive.

As if reading your mind, Ignis spoke up, “Well then, Noct. Shall we take her for a test run?”

“You bet, Specs!” Noctis eagerly agreed.

Everyone hesitated for a moment, all of you too afraid to be the first one in the immaculate new car. Finally, Prompto broke the silence.

“I call shotgun!” he shouted as he made for the passenger seat.

Noctis shrugged at the rest of you as he got in the driver’s side and you, Ignis, and Gladio shuffled into the backseat. You sat between them and immediately decided it was the best seat in the house. You had a clear view out the front windshield, as well as a good look at all the fancy instruments on the dash.

Noctis turned the key in the ignition and the engine purred to life. It was as if you were all a bunch of children again. The excitement buzzing in the air had all of you practically bouncing in your seats as he made his way out to the highway and gunned the engine into a higher gear.

You smiled as Ignis leaned over the driver’s seat to enthusiastically talk to Noctis about how the car was handling. You knew he would likely be the primary driver of the car once the novelty wore off for the prince.

The car sped through the streets and onto the highway. You were surprised to not hear Ignis reprimand him for it. He seemed to be too enthralled by the car to even notice how much over the speed limit you were going.

After a few laps around the city’s main highway system, Noctis made his way back to his apartment. The rest of the evening was spent with drinks, card games, and an elaborate cake Ignis had made for him.

As you sang ‘Happy Birthday’ and watched him blow out the candles, you thanked the Six for blessing you with such great friends.  
                    ____________

For quite a while, you had been looking forward to this day with both excitement and trepidation. Your parents were finally going to meet Ignis.

Your mom and dad came over to your apartment around lunchtime that day to spend some time with you before Ignis picked the three of you up for dinner. It was rare that they came over to visit you. With your father’s recent illness and slow recovery, it had made more sense for you to go home to spend time with them.

As you invited them in, you mom handed you a small plastic tote. You looked at her with curiousity.

“Just some old stuff we found when we were going through some boxes. Thought you might want to keep it,” she said.

You opened the lid to see some random trinkets from your childhood and what appeared to be a small crocheted square folded around the ball of yarn it was still attached to.

As you sat the tote down to pull the item out for a closer look, your mom explained.

“Your grandma had just started that when she passed. She was making a blanket for your cousin, Aeliana’s birth. I thought maybe someday you might want to finish it for yourself,” she said with a warm smile.

It made you blush with the insinuation of having children someday. Your mind drifted off to what kind of father Ignis would be before you reined yourself back to the conversation at hand.

“Thanks mom, it means a lot to me. I’m sure I’ll finish it someday.” You hugged her and put it back in the tote and sat it on the coffee table. “Come on, sit down and relax. I picked up some stuff to make sandwiches, so settle in while I go make them,” you said as you gestured towards the couch.

When you came back in with the food, you caught your mom and dad eyeing up a picture of you and Ignis that was framed on one of your end tables.

“So, you two are pretty serious then?” your dad questioned you, nodding his head towards it.

You were convinced it didn’t matter how old you were, he was never going to fully admit you weren’t his little girl any more. You were just hoping he behaved himself tonight and didn’t give Ignis a run for his money.

“I like to think we are, dad,” you said to him with a small smile.

“Well, I’m happy for you,” your mom chimed in, elbowing your dad in the ribs. “Seriously, though. He is insanely handsome!” she added.

That earned her a blush and a groan from you. “Please promise you won’t embarrass me tonight!” you pleaded.

Your dad crossed his eyes and bucked his teeth out over his bottom lip as he hugged you with a little too much enthusiasm. “I wudn’t dare embawess my whittle girl in front of her big stwong boyfwrend!”

You couldn’t help but burst into laughter as your mom just rolled her eyes and chuckled.

“I seriously hope for your sake, he at least has a sense of humor,” she looked ruefully at you.

“Listen, if I haven’t already scared him off with some of my quirks, I doubt either of you will. I don’t think I ever told you - he took me to the comic-con this year!” Your dad perked up at hearing that.

“By the Six! He must truly love you to still be with you after that!” he laughed.

You feigned being offended. “Hey, now! I controlled myself that day…for the most part. I might have lost it for a bit at the Astrals Above booth, though,” you winced. “At least I didn’t cosplay. I almost thought about going as Shiva!”

Your mom cringed at you with a raised eyebrow. “And he’s not so stuffy that he looks down on things like that?” She seemed amazed by her thought of that.

“Not at all! He even bought me a few things from there for my birthday. And the prince and his friend were with us, too. They actually did have the guts to cosplay. If you only knew the stuff Ignis must put up with for Noct, you’d be surprised!”

“Noct?” your dad asked with amusement. “So, you’re on a first name basis with the prince of Lucis?”

“Uh, yeah. I guess I don’t think too much about it anymore.” You had become such fast friends with him that most days his title didn’t even cross your mind.

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly by as your parents caught you up on the final treatments your dad was going through for the cancer. Ignis had been quite right to reassure you that the combination of modern medicine and magic was more than impressive. Something that would have been a sure death sentence 50 years ago was now just a road bump in life.

They also asked if you had met his parents yet. You had explained his family situation and laughed at them as their eyes went wide when you told them of how him introducing you to King Regis was the closest you were going to get to meeting his immediate family. You spared them the details of his parents’ deaths, only saying he was orphaned at a young age.

Your thoughts went to how Ignis had finally started opening up to you more about his family and his past. You had never wanted to press him about it. It had always seemed like a sore spot for him. He had spoke of how his family had served the Crown as advisors and attendants for generations. His father had taken a brief leave to be home with his mother for the first few months of his life. Tragically, their lives were cut short.

He told you of the accident. A driver had run a red light and hit their car. They had both died instantly, while he was left completely unscathed in his car seat in the back. He had shown you a few pictures he had of them. He looked strikingly like his father, down to the spectacles on his nose. He had his mother’s smile, though. Being only two months old at the time had thankfully spared him any tragic memories as well as the grief of such a loss.

It pulled at your heart to think that a few seconds of difference could have had the back of their car hit and his life ended instead. When you mentioned your thought to him, he pulled you to his chest to hug you and reassure you that the Six must have surely had bigger plans for him than to let him perish that day.  
                    ____________

Ignis messaged you in the early evening that he was on his way to pick the three of you up for the 6 p.m. reservations he had made. You had helped him decide on a simple Altissian steakhouse on the far side of the city. Your parents weren’t exactly the most venturous when it came to food, so you thought it would be best to play it safe.

As you through the front doors to the apartment complex, you found him waiting for you already. He was leaning against the car parked in the roundabout as he browsed through something on his phone. When he saw you, he pushed off the car with a smile and walked over to greet you. He had brought Noctis’s car that evening. You looked from it then back to him and raised an eyebrow in an unspoken question.

“Noct hasn’t really been driving it much. He suggested we borrow it tonight as a treat and to give it some much needed use.”

He moved by your side as you introduced your parents to him. You might have been mistaken, but you thought you sensed just a bit of anxiousness in his demeanor.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” Ignis said as he shook your father’s hand and nodded to your mother.

“Same here,” she answered, staring a bit too long at him. You gave her a look and she broke into a large grin in response.

“Yes,” your father said, hugging your mother to his side. “We’ve heard so much about the man who stole our girl’s heart. It’s good to finally meet him in the flesh.”

You were about to roll your eyes at your dad when Ignis responded to him.

“Well, that is one crime I would be willing to do time for.” He chuckled as he pulled you closer.

Your dad’s lips pulled into a broad smile at his comment. You didn’t know whether to be impressed with how quickly Ignis was winning your father over or completely terrified. Who knew what he would dredge up about your childhood at dinner if the two of them were already falling into banter this easily with each other.

Ignis interrupted your thoughts. “We best be on our way. I’m expecting some traffic this evening and would hate to be late for our reservation.”

As you made your way to the car, he opened the door for you first and after closing it behind you opened the back door for your mother. She thanked him as she climbed in, a look of awe on her face. After he shut her door, you turned to look at her in the backseat.

“He even opens car doors for women!” she said in a loud whisper.

You chuckled. “Chivalry isn’t completely dead, mom.”

“And that accent…” she trailed off as you shushed her when the driver’s side doors opened.

After your dad and Ignis settled in, he pulled out on the road to head to the restaurant. The first few minutes of the ride were relatively quiet. As you glanced back to your dad, you could see him looking around the car in amazement. He finally broke the silence by asking Ignis what mileage the car got on fuel and the remainder of the ride was spent listening to the two of them discussing the technical specs of the Star of Lucis.

Dinner went equally as well as the four of you made conversation amongst each other. You continued to catch up on life with your mom while you tried to listen in on what Ignis and your father were speaking about. To your amazement, they had continued to fall into easy discussions over politics, cars, and unfortunately, you.

You had been in the middle of asking your mom about her promotion at work when you overheard your name.

“Oh, yeah. She used to be afraid of everything when she was little. The dark, insects, fireworks, windshield wipers…” you dad said.

Ignis turned to you with a grin. “Windshield wipers?”

Before you could defend yourself, your dad answered. “Yes. Windshield wipers. She would cower in the backseat crying and jumping every time they moved. Her mother and I tried to think of anything that could have happened to her to terrify her so much over the things.”

You could only sigh and roll your eyes as Ignis bumped your knee with his under the table to let you know it was all in jest.

The remainder of the dinner went by quickly as your conversations switched amongst topics between each other.

Before leaving the restaurant, your mother excused herself to the restroom and you agreed it would be best to join her before the ride back to your apartment.

As you were washing you hands your mom turned to smile at you. “Oh, y/n. He’s the greatest, you know. You’re a very lucky girl.”

You blushed hearing this come from her.

“Yeah, I know,” you said wistfully.

“I mean it. A good man who is kind and treats you well is hard to find these days. You need to hold on to this one,” she said. “Plus, him and your dad really seemed to hit it off and that says a lot! All he’s been talking about the last few days is ‘so we’re finally going to meet the prince’s high-brow lapdog, huh?’.”

You smile faded a bit.

“Come on, you know him,” she hugged you. “He means well and just doesn’t want to see you get hurt. I know he changed his mind about him tonight, though.”

You gave her a tighter squeeze back. “I know. And you know I love you two more than the world. Your opinion means everything to me. I’m happy you like him.”

“Come on, lets go,” she finally said ushering you towards the door. “They’re going to send a waitress in to look for us soon!”

You walked out to join Ignis and your father as they stood in the lobby still casually talking to each other. The subject had gone back to cars again as your dad talked about some of the fancier ones he had worked on at the garage.

On the drive home, a few raindrops began to fall on the windshield. Ignis glanced at you with a grave look as he sat at a red light. “Will you be alright darling? Shall I hold your hand?” He said as he turned on the wipers.

You resisted the urge to scratch your cheek with your middle finger and instead stared at him with disdain until laughter erupted from all of you. You were certain you would never be able to live it down now.

By the time you arrived back at your apartment building, it was quite a downpour. Ignis parked beside your parents’ car and offered them an umbrella. They declined politely as they said their goodbyes to you in the car. Ignis turned to shake their hands and you leaned over to give each of them a peck on the cheek.

“It was wonderful to meet you, again,” Ignis told them. “I look forward to talking to you more about cars,” he directed to your father. “And I’m sure you can dig up some more scandalous stories about y/n in the meantime.” He elbowed you.

“Don’t listen to him,” you told them, laughing. “Text me when you get home safe.”

They made a quick dash into their car and you waved to them through the rain-soaked windows as they backed out.

Ignis fished for the umbrella as you readied your hand on the door. “Aw, come on. Umbrellas are for sissies!” You kidded him. “Last one in’s a rotten egg!” you smirked before bolting out into the rain. You heard a muffled ‘hey’ as the door slammed closed behind you.

You truly thought you had beat him when you were making the last large strides up the steps to the entrance doors. The next thing you knew, Ignis was making his way gracefully past you and swung the door open with an exaggerated bow.

“Ladies first,” he said trying to keep a straight face as you stood in the rain with your hands on your hips scowling at him.

It was hard to keep the act up, though, seeing him as he was. His new hairstyle was undone, strands of it plastered to his forehead from the rain. His soaked shirt clung to him. Your heart couldn’t help but warm at the thoughts of him getting along so well with your parents that evening, while other parts of you warmed at the thought of what his body and touch could do to you.

You put on your best airs and walked in through the door with your nose in the air and an extra sway to your hips. The elevator doors opened as soon as you hit the call button and as you entered the car you were immediately turned and pressed to the back wall by him. The warmth of his body and his tongue seeking entrance into your mouth was a comforting contrast to the chill you had from your rain-soaked clothes.

“I’m so glad you hit it off so well with them. I was afraid my dad was going to pick you apart,” you said after pulling back from his lips for a breath.

He chuckled. “Quite frankly, I was a bit nervous myself. I am happy that they found me suitable for their little girl.” He squeezed your buttocks as he ground his hips into you.

“Ignis Scientia, nervous? Now that’s one for the papers!” You teasingly pushed your own hips back into him.

He let out a low growl as his lips attacked yours again. Just as you started to pull your leg up to wrap around his, the elevator doors opened, still on the ground floor. An older couple looked startled to see you as you and Ignis broke off your heated kiss with blushes and apologetic smiles.

The couple moved into the elevator, smiling mischievously at the two of you. They looked the type to have gone on some wild romps of their own in their youth.

“15th floor please,” you asked when the gentleman pressed the button for their own floor.

You settled back against Ignis’s side as he wrapped his arm behind you, giving you a sideways glance before stealing another squeeze from your buttocks.  
                    ____________

As the two of you walked through the park in the chill winter air of a late December day, you thought with a bit of lament how truthful it was when people commented on how short life was.

A year had already passed since you and Ignis had started seeing each other. The two of you had decided to spend the day in the same park that Noctis and Prompto had set you up at the previous year. You spent the day much the same – ice skating, catching a movie, and then having a light lunch at the same café as before.

After eating, you walked around some more, checking out vendor stalls that were set up around the central fountain. After buying some hot cocoa, you sat on the fountain’s retaining wall and took in the sites and sounds of people going about enjoying their day.

Ignis broke the silence after a while. “There was something I wanted to ask you today.” He seemed uncharacteristically nervous.

“Yeah?” you asked, mulling over exactly what he could be thinking of.

“I wanted to see if you would be interested in moving in with me?” he said looking to you with hopefulness.

You hadn’t expected that. Move in with him? Your heart jumped at the thought of being domestic with him, not to mention sharing a bedroom. But, wouldn’t this be frowned upon? you thought. For the advisor to the prince to be living with his girlfriend before marriage? It was a regular occurrence in this day and age, but royals and their court were held to different standards than commoners.

When you came out of your thoughts, you realized Ignis’s expression had turned to a frown. “If it’s too soon, I understand. I-I just thought it would be a way for us to be able to spend more time together and it would put you closer to the Citadel and make it easier for you to get to work.”

“Oh, no, Iggy, it’s not that! I’d love to. It’s just, is it okay?” you said as you stuttered over your words.

“Okay?” he asked in confusion.

“I mean, with your position and all. No one is going to look at you in a bad light for it, will they?” you explained your thoughts to him.

He chuckled, finally realizing what was concerning you. “You worry too much about what people think. It is no such problem. It is not as if I am being hounded by the media on a daily basis. Noct, on the other hand, would be a different story. I already spoke with the people I would need to get you listed on the lease and your parents are ok with it.”

“Oh, okay,” you said as you breathed a sigh of relief. Your thoughts grew excited again at the proposal when his last words dawned on you. “What do you mean my parents are okay with it? When did you even…”

Ignis’s laugh interrupted you. “I had been thinking about this for a few months now. I spoke with your father when we went out for dinner.”

You punched him lightly in the arm. “You’re a conniving thing, aren’t you?”

“Perhaps. That and I wanted to make sure you didn’t have any reason to turn me down,” he said with a playful smirk.

“You do realize that you are getting more than just one boarder, right?” you reminded him.

“Ah, yes, your furry children, Kupo and Kweh have not been forgotten. I’ve already made sure there is no problem for them to join us in our home,” he added.

Our home, you thought, your heart doing flips in your chest.  
                    ____________

Within the month, you had moved your things into the apartment you now shared with Ignis and began to adjust to the nuances of living together. It truly took your relationship to the next level to be able to see each other at your barest and most private existence.

You became all too aware of this the first time your stomach acted up in front of him. The organ was notoriously moody at times. One evening after dinner, you had become extremely ill and been in the bathroom for almost a half hour. You finally heard a soft rap and Ignis’s voice asking if you were ok. After begging him to not come in, his stubbornness won and to your horror he came in to the sight of you – a sweaty, pale mess, still sitting on the toilet. He moved to sit on the side of the tub, rubbing your back and reassuring you there was nothing to be embarrassed about. When your stomach calmed enough he helped you out to the couch and covered you with a blanket. He disappeared into the kitchen, only to return with some tea he had warmed up for you.

His turn came next when he failed to hear you come home from work one evening. You found him dancing along to a song on the radio as he sang to Kupo, whom he was currently feeding some of the shrimp he was cooking for dinner. You leaned against the wall for a few moments until he caught the sight of you out of the corner of his eye. You couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the ridiculousness of the whole situation as he jumped in surprise. Apparently, he was quite embarrassed by you finding him with his guard so completely down that he turned the darkest shade of red you thought humanly possible. Not wanting him to ever feel he couldn’t let his hair down around you, you moved to his side to turn the song up louder. After a bit of encouragement and your own silly dance moves, he rejoined you in singing to Kupo again.  
  
With the good, also came the bad.

Living with Ignis had made you even more aware of the tidiness and organization the man needed in his life. You weren’t a hopeless disaster like Noct, but you didn’t dwell on keeping things as tidy as Ignis liked.

You really hadn’t thought much about leaving your clothes and other things lying around the apartment any more than when you had lived by yourself. He had never seemed to be bothered by it.

You had taken advantage of having an early work day to catch up on some of your crocheting projects. You thought about washing your dishes from lunch and taking a load of clothes to the laundry room in the basement, but decided you’d much rather spend the extra free time doing something you enjoyed instead.

When Ignis came home that evening, you had turned the living room into a makeshift craft room. Patterns, yarn, and hooks were spread out everywhere. He greeted you with the tired expression he usually bore after an exceptionally trying day.

You heard him sigh as he made his way out into the kitchen and then heard the dishes slamming about in the sink as he turned the water on. Some guilt overcame you as you thought about how you probably should have taken care of them earlier after all.

You went out to join him and sidled up beside him to offer to take over. “I can finish,” you attempted.

“I got it,” he replied gruffly to you, cutting you off. You scratched the back of your head as you backed away to give him some space. You tried to lighten up the mood by adding, “I didn’t make anything for dinner, I thought we could just order in tonight.” There was a good restaurant down the street you knew he liked and thought he would enjoy not having to cook that evening.

Ignis didn’t answer you as he turned off the water and made his way over to the garbage to discard the food scraps from the dish drain. You cringed when the lid lifted to expose an almost overflowing bin. Yeah, you had meant to do that earlier, too.

“This is what I can’t take,” he said suddenly, hands fisting at his sides. He turned to you with frustration. “If you dirty something, just take care of it then instead of letting it sit. Dishes, garbage, clothes!” he threw his hands up in the air.

His expression bore some anger with it now, something he had never directed at you before. It triggered a reciprocal reaction in yourself.

“Well maybe if you just relaxed for a change, shit like that wouldn’t bother you! It’s not the end of the world! I had some free time today and I wanted to spend it doing something I enjoy, not keeping this place endlessly spotless for you!” you raised your voice to him.

“I am the one that invited you into this apartment with me! The least you can do is respect me for it!” he was practically shouting at you now.

You felt tears sting the corner of your eyes. “Yeah, well then maybe moving in with you was just a bad idea!” you yelled back.

You made your way to the door and toed your shoes on and grabbed a hoodie before going out, slamming the door behind you. You instantly realized the stupidity of that. You had just locked yourself out and would have to pitifully ask to be let back in. Your mind was still in the fog of anger, however. You took the elevator up to the rooftop lookout and sat on one of the benches. It was a mild evening for a winter day in late January. You could stay out here as long as you needed to, you thought. Hell, this bench was probably comfortable enough to sleep on.

You sat there with your knees drawn up and embraced by your arms, staring out at the stars on the horizon. As your temper cooled, you replayed the words and expressions you had thrown at each other, and guilt and regret filled the void the anger had left. You sighed as you felt hot tears finally escape your eyes.

You heard the door to the lookout opening and saw Ignis look dejectedly at you before he made his way over. He sat down on the bench at your side, staring straight ahead as he sighed and pushed his glasses back up his nose.

You spoke first. “I’m sorry…”

He turned his head down before interrupting you. “No, it was I who was out of line. I was tired and said things I didn’t mean. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

“I didn’t really mean the things I said either,” you confessed to him. “I just got angry at you being angry at me.”

He finally looked up into your eyes.

“I love you,” he said as he slid closer to you and pulled you against him to lean on his chest. “I don’t care if you turn the place upside down, I don’t ever want to fight like that again.”

“Iggy,” you sighed. “I love you, too. And I’ll clean the tile on the kitchen floor with a toothbrush everyday if it means we don’t fight any more.”

That finally drew a chuckle out of both of you.

“Well, it’s settled then. We’ll both try to be more tolerant of each other, agreed?” he offered.

“Agreed,” you nodded.

He leaned down to draw you into a kiss as his hands started to roam over you. “Perhaps we should go back inside?”

“Good idea,” you said as you kissed him back.

Whoever said make-up sex was the best was absolutely right, you thought as you fell asleep in his arms later that evening.  
                    ____________

You had been able to work your schedule to be home a half day early on Ignis’s birthday without him knowing. After a quick stop at the grocery store, you headed back to the apartment to get to work on the dinner you planned for him. You were expecting him home around 7 p.m., which gave you plenty of time to cook and bake, barring any unseen disaster.

You were going to attempt your first from-scratch cake and decided that it would be best to tackle it first so it would be cool in time to frost. You were pleasantly surprised when it came out of the pans perfect, unstuck and unburned.

The roast would hopefully be even easier. You put the meat, potatoes, and carrots in a roaster with a red wince sauce and popped it in the oven to cook until he came home. Your cooking wasn’t as up to par as his, but you were proud of yourself that day nonetheless.

When you heard his key jingle in the lock as he returned home for the evening, you smoothed his apron you were wearing out, trying to unconsciously smooth out your nerves as well. You had never played at anything like this before and were half expecting him to laugh at you.

His reaction was anything but.

When you came out of the kitchen and across the living room to greet him he was taking his shoes off and turned to put his briefcase on the entry table.

“Good evening darling…” he trailed off as he caught sight of you.

You handed him a glass of wine as you swirled yours and took a sip. “Good evening to you too, birthday boy,” you said coyly as you turned to walk back out to the kitchen. “Dinner should be ready any minute.”

You made sure to sway your hips as you walked away. You were completely nude under the apron, giving him full view of your bare backside.

When you realized you didn’t hear him responding or at the very least, following you into the kitchen, you turned back to him. He was still standing by the door, frozen in place, with a stare of disbelief stuck on his face. “You’re welcome to join me,” you added to entice him along. “I don’t bite…too hard.”

He swallowed thickly as he finally moved to join you in the kitchen. He came up behind you, moving his hands under the flimsy fabric and up to grasp your breasts. He pressed into you and you could feel his already hard cock jutting into your upper thigh.

“You have no idea what you have just done,” he growled into your ear as he bit the lobe.

As fast as he turned you around, he picked you up and, sweeping the table setting aside, sat you down on the dining table.

“Oh!” was all you could manage in response. You certainly hadn’t expected this response from him.

He stood back a bit as took in the sight of you. “Lean back,” he instructed you.

Your lips curled up a bit in a smirk as you rested back onto your elbows for him.

“Put your legs up,” he said next.

You obliged him by moving back slightly and pulling your knees up to rest your heels on the table. You hadn’t expected this position to spread your legs as wide as it did. Ignis moved back to look at your sex peeking out at him from under the apron. He seemed to be unable to break his gaze from between your legs as he stroked himself through his pants. You were starting to feel self-conscious at how on display you were for him.

He finally raised his eyes to yours and it looked liked his composure had already gone out the window.

“Don’t move,” he practically snarled as he stalked back to the bedroom.

You suddenly felt cold lying on the table waiting for him. He quickly returned and all but slammed a condom down on the table beside you. Without speaking a word, he knelt in front of you and hoisted your legs onto his shoulders. He spread you wide with his hands as his tongue went to work assaulting your clit.

He was like a man possessed. As you sat up further to watch him, he slid two fingers in you and broke his mouth away long enough to growl another order you were happy to obey. “Take that apron off.”

You were turned on by the way his lust had shut his vocabulary down to only simple commands.

He reached up to tease one of your nipples and your arms gave out on you. You moaned his name as you laid back and threaded your hands through his hair. Just as you felt the first shiver of impending release he quickly pulled all contact off you. You arched your back with a disappointed groan.

You heard a jingle of metal and looked up to see him undoing his belt and zip just far enough to free his erection. He quickly tore the condom open and rolled it on. Pausing only long enough to make consenting eye contact with you, he buried himself fully inside you with one thrust, making one of the lewdest sounds you had ever heard come from his mouth.

You wrapped your legs around him as he gripped your hips with his long fingers. He had already brought you so close to the edge with his mouth, you could already feel your orgasm cresting as he thrust in and out of you. The fact that he was still fully clothed was insanely erotic. He moved one of your legs from around him to rest it on his shoulder and held onto it as his hips snapped into you harder.

You could feel yourself start to tremble and your fingers clawed at the table, uselessly trying to find something to grip onto.

You heard Ignis emit a low growl followed by a final command.

“Come for me, kitten.”

You tilted you head to look up at him and he was utterly debauched. His hair was falling across his eyes in places, his glasses were halfway down his nose, and rivulets of sweat ran between his collarbones and under his dress shirt. He held your eye contact as his breaths hissed and stuttered out from between his teeth in time with his thrusts.

Your walls clenched down on him in waves as you came. His hips didn’t slow a beat as you writhed through your pleasure.

“Fuck, Iggy,” you moaned, unable to take anymore stimulation as you started to come down from your orgasm.

Still holding your gaze, he slammed into you a few more times before burying himself into you as far as he could. His grip on your hips was almost bruising. He threw his head back and moaned loud enough for half of Insomnia to hear him, before collapsing down with his palms on either side of you on the table, chest heaving with his gasping breaths.

When he was able to string together a proper sentence again, he pulled you up to sit and peppered you with kisses.

“Astrals, y/n. I am so sorry. Was I too rough? I…you made me lose all control of myself.” He pulled you into a deeper kiss.

Breaking from it, you responded. “Absolutely not. This was so insanely hot. I’m not going to be able to quit thinking about it,” you trailed your lips down his neck. “And to think I was afraid you were going to laugh at me,” you chuckled.

“Laugh at you?” Ignis said, amused. “I’m going to let you in on a little secret.” It was his turn to trail his mouth on your neck and up to your ear, giving you little licks along the way. “One of my first fantasies of you was in the kitchen we first met each other in. You’d come up behind me in nothing but an apron and then I’d take you while you were laying on the counter.”

You pulled back to look him in the eyes. After searching them, you realized now exactly why he had been so completely enthralled by what you had done.

“Well, then, maybe we need to talk about our fantasies to each other a little more often.” You pulled him in for another kiss and moved forward on the table to wrap you legs around him again.

Your mind went back to the mind-blowing orgasm you just had and remembered what he had called you in the throes of passion.

“Did you really call me kitten?” you said as you broke the kiss off.

“Huh?” he questioned. His already sex-blushed cheeks darkened just a bit more. “I-I suppose I did.” He chuckled lightly with a hint of embarrassment.

You hummed as you wrapped your legs a little tighter around him and moved your lips back to his, grazing them against his as you spoke.

“I really liked that.”

You pushed your tongue into his mouth and kissed him languidly. You felt something twitch against your leg and realized he was getting hard again. He hadn’t even had a chance to take the first condom off yet.

You pushed yourself into his renewed erection and looked at him with amusement.

“I do believe you have utterly broken me tonight, _kitten_ ,” he said, his voice deepening with lust again. “Shall we perhaps indulge a fantasy of yours now? We might as well build up a healthy appetite for the dinner you’ve made me.”

“It’s your birthday,” you said, tracing random circles on his chest. “I say we dig a little deeper into your mind for round two, hmm?”

He stared at you for a moment and you felt his cock twitch against your leg again.

“Those high heels you have in the closet,” he purred. “I want you in them and nothing else.”

By the Six, you thought. What has he really fantasized about you? Your mind quickly went to the day you had seen him sparring with Gladio in the Glaive hall and the little kink that had sparked in your mind surfaced.

You continued tracing your fingers on his chest. “Only if you wear nothing but your gloves.”

That elicited the sweetest groan from him.

The next thing you knew, he was carrying you back to the bedroom. “I do hope your legs are strong enough?” he asked, as he put you on your feet and proceeded to strip himself of his clothes.

As you rummaged in the closet for your heels, he took the used condom off and moved to his nightstand to get a new one.

“For you? They can stand whatever you can give them,” you said as you put the shoes on and walked seductively up to him.

He retrieved his gloves from the top of the dresser and pulled them on in front of you, making sure to put on a show of wriggling his fingers into them. He let out a soft groan and walked around behind you as he stroked himself. You heard the tearing of the condom wrapper and what you could assume was the sound of him rolling it on with his gloved hands.

“Well, then, let’s see how much they really can take,” he said as he turned you towards the bed, putting a hand on your back to bend you over. He slid his knee between your legs to push them wider apart.

The heels elevated your buttocks to just the right height for him to have perfect access to take you from behind.

He leaned over you as he thrust in, placing one of his gloved hands over your mouth.

“We’re going to play a game kitten. Don’t make a sound and I might just let you come first,” he leaned back, removing his hand from your mouth to grab a handful of your backside as he started to move in you.

Whatever the hell you two had sparked in each other that evening you weren’t going to question. The only thing on your mind at that moment was being the quietest little kitten you could possibly be.  
                    ____________

Winter gave way to spring in Insomnia and the warmth of the sun and leaves on the trees finally returned. It was the first Saturday in May and you had opened the few windows there were in the apartment to let in some fresh air as you tidied up the place. Ignis had been called in for an unplanned meeting earlier that morning.

He returned in the early afternoon as you sat crocheting a small chocobo plushie on the couch. You sat your work aside when you saw the odd, but unreadable expression on his face.

“Is everything alright?” you questioned him.

He sat down beside you with a sigh. “I’d like to think it is, but I am still a bit uneasy.” He seemed to chew on his thoughts for another moment before continuing. “The Empire met with King Regis and gave him an ultimatum on peace terms.”

You looked away from his hands that were picking at his pants to his face. “Well, peace terms are good, right?”

He sighed again, started to speak, and then closed his mouth. He turned to face you and finally spoke. “The king has agreed to their terms. He will relinquish all remaining territories of Lucis to Niflheim control for the freedom and safety of Insomnia alone.”

You thought about that for a moment. You didn’t have any family on the outside, but many other Insomnians and refugees did. Most of the Kingsglaive consisted of outsiders who came to the city to seek either escape from the Empire or hope for a better life than the rest of Lucis could offer them. Many had loved ones that would be cut off from them by these terms. “How do you think the people will react?”

“It’s hard to say. I’m sure there will be people on both sides, but they are hopeful the majority will be in support.” Ignis still sat with a troubled and unfinished look on his face. “There is one more term the king agreed to.” He paused and hung his head down before looking to you again. “Noct is to marry Lady Lunafreya.”

Now that was concerning. Not only for Noct himself, you thought, but what was the Empire hoping to accomplish with that? As if he was reading your mind, Ignis continued.

“According to the Empire, it is a way for Insomnia to show they are willing to commit fully to the terms of peace. An ‘olive branch’ if you would.” He waited while you digested this.

“Or a way to keep their claws in us,” you finally said.

Ignis hummed in agreement. “Noct has kept in touch with Luna by a journal throughout most of their lives. Granted it has been twelve years since he has seen her last, but he has full trust in her intentions. She is most likely being thrust into this situation the same as he is.”

Your thoughts returned to Noctis again. “But is Noct really ok with this? I mean, Prompto, you know, and…” You trailed off when you saw Ignis nod in understanding.

“Noct, as much as he doesn’t act it, has known for much of his life that most of his choices regarding it would never be his own. I am sure it is breaking his heart, but it is something he has known would be expected of him some day. If not Luna, it would have been another woman. Despite what the Kings of Lucis have ever wanted for themselves, they must carry on their lineage through a legitimate child.” Ignis pushed his glasses up to rub the bridge of his nose.

“I suppose, then, it is a bit of a blessing that it is Lady Lunafreya, then,” you commented.

Ignis nodded again. “It will make things more comfortable for him, that is for sure.” He turned to face you again, pulling his legs up on the couch and taking your hands in his. “There is one more thing with all of this you need to know.” The concerned look on his face made your stomach sink a bit. “The wedding is going to be in Altissia. There is no firm date, yet, but it will take place soon. For now, I know that Gladio and I will accompany him on the journey to ensure his safety. I will be gone for at least a few weeks.”

It was hard to hide your emotions hearing this. You were sure you would be ok on your own but knowing that he would be out of Insomnia and with the crown prince in a foreign land was unsettling to say the least. You were well aware of what Ignis’s position in life was, but this was the first time that you were going to be tested by it. All you could do was nod your acceptance of the situation to him and try to hold back some tears. He pulled you to his chest and wrapped his arms around you.

“I’m sure everything will turn out for the best and we will be back in the city before you know it,” he tried to reassure you. You detected just the slightest of waiver in his voice.

“Yeah,” you said as you let your head settle into his chest to listen to his heartbeat. “I’m sure it will.”  
                    ____________  
  
Ignis arrived home just after you did on the evening of May 11th. He was on his phone and was trying to juggle a few bags as he came through the door. “Yes, very well. Of course. We will get underway early tomorrow then.” He ended the call and gave you the best smile he could muster as you helped take some of the things off his hands.

“Well, we are to leave the day after tomorrow for Altissia,” he informed you.

You nodded to him and moved to wrap your arms around him and give him a kiss. You noticed one of the bags was a Crownsguard issued backpack. “Packing already, then?”

“Actually, no, that is for you. I will explain in a moment, lets settle down first,” he said lifting a take-out bag up for you to see.

After returning to the couch with the food divided between the two of you, he began his to inform you of the tentative plans.

“This will be my last night home until after this trip is completed. I will be helping Noct clean out his apartment tomorrow, so we can get his things moved back into the Citadel before we leave. Prompto will be accompanying us now as well, per Noct’s request. We are planning to spend the night at the Citadel, so we can be off early the next morning,” he informed you.

“Okay. So, do you know how long you will be gone?” you questioned.

“Unfortunately, not as of yet. Some things are still undetermined at the moment. The Empire has yet to settle on a firm date for the treaty signing.” His look turned a bit concerned. “That is what this is for,” he said getting up and bringing the backpack over. He opened it up and handed it to you.

As you looked inside, you could tell it was some type of field kit they would most likely take on missions with them. You could see some various potions and first aid items inside, along with some non-perishable rations.

“There is plenty of room in there for a change of clothes and some incidentals. I suggest you pack it now to be prepared. The bag itself is water-resistant to an extent,” he explained.

Your mind raced trying to comprehend the meaning of this. “I-I don’t understand, Iggy. Why would I need something like this? Isn’t everything being done on terms of peace?”

He sighed and started talking without looking you in the eye. “We are all hoping for that. I guess my instinct is making me second guess their intentions.” He looked up to you then. “I want to assure you that you will be safe here, but I don’t want to take any chances. If anything happens, take this bag and get out. Gladio and Clarus have given the same instructions to Iris. I also put Monica’s phone number in the first aid kit for you.  
She is a Crownsguard officer and can help you should the need arise.”

“Iggy…” you started but were at a loss for words.

“Just remain vigilant and attentive, especially when you are out or at work. I am only a phone call or a text away, don’t forget.” He brought his hand up to cup your chin and run his thumb over your lip, searching your eyes.

“I know. I’ll be alright. We can only take things a day at a time, right?” you said trying to be positive.

“Right,” he smiled back at you. He took the plate of half finished food you were pushing around with your fork from you and sat it on the coffee table. He stood, pulling you to your feet with him. “Let’s start by making the most of what time we have together for now.” It was a relief to see the stress fade from his face as it was replaced by a mischievous look of desire.

“That sounds marvelous to me,” you said as he tugged you towards the bedroom.         

                    ____________      

You awoke before Ignis did early the next morning. The sun had yet to crest the horizon, allowing the dim city lights to filter through the blinds. They were enough, though, to allow you to study the profile of his face as he peacefully slept. You moved your hand to his bare chest to feel his breaths make it rise and fall. You wanted to pretend that nothing in the world existed besides the two of you in this bed together. As much as the thought warmed you, your mind continued to push the inevitability of the day into existence. You unconsciously sighed at the thought, rousing Ignis from his sleep.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you,” you said curling closer to him and planting a kiss on his lips as he rolled over to face you.

“It’s all right,” he said, words running together as he flitted between the planes of consciousness. He turned his body to yawn broadly and stretch his arms overhead. He rolled over to face you once again and moved his arms to caress your bare body. “Gives us just a bit more time for this,” he said as he kissed you and rolled you onto your back, moving to lie on top of you.

“Hmm. True,” you laughed as his morning stubble tickled your face as he peppered you with kisses.

You had thought your love-making the night before couldn’t have been any more passionate, but what the two of you did to each other that morning put it to shame. It was hard to tell where his limbs ended and yours began. His thrusts and kisses were languid and deep and the two of you clung to each other as you called each other’s names through a shared climax. You had never felt the emotion of love as strongly as you had at that moment. It was almost as if it was you last day on Eos together, you thought grimly to yourself, pushing the thought out of your mind as quickly as it formed.

Neither of you wanted to be the first to get out of bed that morning, but Ignis finally conceded that he had to get ready to be on his way, lest he be late. You sat on the couch with a blanket around you as you watched him move his bags to the door to get ready to leave.

With a sigh, you made your way over to him once he had his shoes and jacket on. You held each other for a few minutes until he finally pulled away.

“Just remember what we talked about last night and everything should be fine,” he said as he kissed you. You chased him back for another when he pulled back.

“l love you, Iggy. Please be safe,” you said as you straightened the lapel on his jacket.

“I love you, too, y/n. We’ll be together again before either of us knows it. Call me if you have any fears at all. I am still here for you even though it is not in person.”

You stood in the doorway in your pajamas as you watched him carry his bags down to the elevator and board it. You gave each other a small wave as you moved back into the apartment, the small flat already too silent without his presence.


	16. The Brink Part 2

Ignis stood in awe at the metal beauty in front of him as Prompto circled the Star of Lucis. The luxurious car had been gifted to Noctis by the manufacturer for his 20th birthday.

“Oh. Em. Gee. Your new wheels are sweet!” Prompto exclaimed.

Ignis cringed at the thought of the blonde behind the wheel. He would have to be sure to have a conversation with Noctis later that he was under no circumstances to hand the keys over to the him. His track record with his own accidents was less than commendable.

Ignis noticed with some amusement even you had a slack-jawed look of awe on your face. Speaking up, he made the suggestion that everyone was waiting for.

“Well then, Noct. Shall we take her for a test run?”

“You bet, Specs!” Noctis eagerly agreed.

For all the excitement, no one dashed immediately to the car. It was as if no one wanted to be the first to stain the opulent mechanical deity with their mere mortal presence.

“I call shotgun!” Prompto finally shouted as he made for the passenger seat.

Noctis shrugged at everyone else as he got in the driver’s side. You, Ignis, and Gladio clamored into the backseat. Ignis allowed you to climb in before him to make sure you had the best view from the middle. You’d be able to see clearly out the front windshield and fully appreciate the ride. He was certain he would have plenty of opportunities to enjoy the car later in his own time.

Noctis turned the key in the ignition and the engine purred to life. The anticipation from all of you was like electricity in the air as he made his way out to the highway and gunned the engine into a higher gear.

Ignis eagerly leaned over the driver’s seat to ask Noctis how the car was handling. He was so wrapped up in checking out the instrumentation and listening to the sound of the engine that he didn’t even notice how far over the speed limit they were currently going.

After making a few laps around the city, Noctis made his way back to his apartment. The five of you spent an evening in to celebrate his birthday with drinks, games of cards, and a few rounds of King’s Knight.

Ignis brought out the elaborate cake he had baked for him and lit the candles on it. As you all sang ‘Happy Birthday’, he caught your eyes and marveled at the smile on your face. To think of how happy everyone in this room made him warmed his heart.  
                    ____________

Ignis had been looking forward to this day with some apprehension. He was finally going to meet your parents.

What would they think of him? Would they think he was good enough for you? What did they know about him already? Having not grown up with traditional parenting himself made him unsure of what to really expect.

He knew a little of them from what you had shared with him already. He knew of your father’s illness and the mutual love of books and comics you shared with him. He knew how close you had been to your grandmother. But as far as their personalities went, he was at a loss.

As he readied himself to leave to pick you up, his thoughts went to his own family. He was fond of his aunt and uncle that had kindly raised him after the accident, but they could never truly be a replacement for a true mother and father. The same held true for King Regis and the others that were meant to fill in as father figures for him. He supposed that was why he had latched onto Noctis so quickly as a young child. He was the closest thing he would ever have to a brother and took to the relationship with a passion.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to speak of his parents to you, it was just a bit of a sore spot for him. He thought to the few pictures of them that remained in his possession. He wondered what they would look like now. What would they think of what he had grown into? What would they think of you? The questions that came to mind when he dwelled on the subject were endless.

He gathered his thoughts and finished styling his hair. He put on his best jacket and did a final check in the mirror to make sure he looked acceptable. He felt more nervous tonight than he did getting ready for dates with you, he thought with a chuckle.

He sent you a message that he would soon be on his way to pick you and your parents up at your apartment. He had made reservations for 6 p.m. at a simple Altissian steakhouse on the other side of the city. You had mentioned that your parents’ tastes ran simple, so it was decided this would be the safest place for everyone to enjoy a meal.

He pulled into the roundabout at the front of your apartment building and got out to rest against the passenger side to wait for you. He was anxious to see the look on your face when you saw the car he drove tonight was the Star of Lucis. The novelty of the car, as expected, had worn off for Noctis. He was much more content to let others transport him around the busy city streets. When he had found out Ignis was meeting your parents tonight he suggested Ignis take the car as a treat and to give it some much needed use.

As he browsed through some news updates on his phone, he heard the doors open and saw your eyes widen into a smile as you came outside and saw the car. After walking over to greet you, he explained why he had it.

As he moved to stand by your side, you introduced him to your parents. He could feel his nerves flare a bit as they eyed him up.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” Ignis said as he shook your father’s hand and nodded to your mother.

“Same here,” she responded, staring a bit too long at him. He couldn’t help but see your coquettish smile start to form on her lips.

“Yes,” your father finally broke her trance by hugging her to his side. “We’ve heard so much about the man who stole our girl’s heart. It’s good to finally meet him in the flesh.”

“Well, that is one crime I would be willing to do time for,” Ignis replied without missing a beat. He chuckled as he put his arm around you, noting that you seemed to be somewhat embarrassed.

Your father’s lips pulled into a broad smile at his comment. Ignis’s anxiety calmed as he decided he was going to get along quite well with them this evening.

Looking at the time on his watch he decided it would be good to start moving everyone along. “We best be on our way. I’m expecting some traffic this evening and would hate to be late for our reservation.”

He opened the passenger door for you and then the back door for your mother. He mused at the look of awe on her face. Apparently, she wasn’t used to having such things done for her.

As he got in the driver’s seat, he overheard some whispers between you two as you laughed and turned back around in your seat.

Once he was sure everyone was settled, he pulled out onto the road to head towards the restaurant. The first few minutes passed in silence. Ignis noticed your father straining to look around the interior of the car. He remembered then that he had worked at a garage himself for a living. He decided to try to strike up a conversation with him about the subject and the remainder of the ride passed quickly as the two of them discussed the technical specs of the Star of Lucis.

Dinner went quite well as the four of you made easy conversation amongst yourselves. Ignis couldn’t help but to continue to notice the physical and mental traits you shared with both your mother and father. It made him reflect back to his own thoughts from earlier in the day and what things he would have shared with his own parents had they still been alive.

You chatted away with your mother as he found your father to be quite the intellectual conversationalist. They spoke on politics, back to cars again, and then, quite to your chagrin, embarrassing tales of your childhood.

You looked up from the sentence you were in the middle of with you mother when you heard your father speak your name. A trace of what could only be described as horror graced your features.

“Oh, yeah. She used to be afraid of everything when she was little. The dark, insects, fireworks, windshield wipers…” he said.

Ignis couldn’t imagine you with so many fears as a child. He had half expected you to be a fearless little spitfire. He turned to you with a grin. “Windshield wipers?”

Before you had a chance to defend yourself, your father answered. “Yes. Windshield wipers. She would cower in the backseat crying and jumping every time they moved. Her mother and I tried to think of anything that could have happened to her to terrify her so much over the things.”

You sighed and rolled your eyes at them. Ignis bumped your knee with his under the table to make sure you knew that this was all in jest and not an attack on you personally. You gave him a knowing smile back.

The remaining dinner service went by with more conversations, your parents learning more about him and his relationship with you.

Before leaving the restaurant, your mother excused herself to the restroom and you agreed it would be best to join her before the ride back to your apartment.

This left Ignis alone with your father in the lobby. It was an opportunity he was actually hoping to have this evening.

“So, I realize I have just met you this evening, but I have a question that I would like to ask,” Ignis proposed, trying his best to look his most confident.

Your father raised an eyebrow at him. “Unless you are going to tell me you got her pregnant, go right ahead.”

Ignis almost choked on his own saliva at the unexpected and pointed comment. He supposed it would have been one of the first things to pop into his head, seeing how overprotective he was of you.

“No, no, it’s not anything like that at all,” Ignis rushed to answer. Now he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to present his question to him if he was already jumping to those conclusions.

Your father’s stern expression lightened as he laughed and slapped him on the back. “I’m teasing you, son. Go ahead, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“Well, I had been thinking about asking y/n to move into my apartment with me,” he looked to your father and watched him mull the thought over. “It would be much closer for her to get to the Citadel for work and quite frankly, in a safer neighborhood than she lives in now.”

Ignis had yet to voice this concern to you. Your neighborhood wasn’t unsafe, per se, but lacked the security systems and proximity to emergency services that his did.

He continued. “I would prefer to know that you two are comfortable with this before I ask her.”

Your father thought on the matter for another moment. “Well, I guess it is the thing to do nowadays. I’m a bit old school when it comes to courting and marriage and the like, but I suppose it has some merit to it to live with someone and see how it works before you decide a life together is the right thing.”

Ignis held his breath waiting for a more definitive answer.

“It’s fine by me as long as she is ok with it. I’m sure her mother would agree as well,” he finally answered.

Footsteps ended the conversation as they turned to see you and your mother coming out into the lobby. Your father nodded to Ignis with a smile as he started taking about some of the fancier cars he had worked on in his career as if that was what their conversation had revolved around the entire time.

On the drive home, a few raindrops began to fall on the windshield. Ignis found himself a bit mischievous from how well the evening went and couldn’t help himself as he glanced at you with a grave look as he sat at a red light. “Will you be alright darling? Shall I hold your hand?” He said as he turned on the wipers.

The look you gave him should have struck him dead in an instant. After a moment of silence, the car broke out into laughter. He would have to be sure to catch you on this from time to time in the future.

By the time he arrived back at your apartment, the rain had turned into quite the downpour. Ignis parked beside your parents’ car and offered them an umbrella. They declined politely as they said their goodbyes in the car. Ignis turned to shake their hands and you leaned over to give each of them a peck on the cheek.

“It was wonderful to meet you, again,” Ignis told them. “I look forward to talking to you more about cars,” he directed to your father. “And I’m sure you can dig up some more scandalous stories about y/n.” He elbowed you.

“Don’t listen to him,” you told them, laughing. “Text me when you get home safe.”

They made a quick dash to their car and you waved to them through the rain-soaked windows as they backed out.

Ignis again fished for the umbrella as he noticed you readying your hand on the door handle. “Aw, come on. Umbrellas are for sissies!” You kidded him. “Last one in’s a rotten egg!” you smirked at him as you bolted from the car.

“Hey!” he exclaimed, but he spoke it to the door as it slammed closed. He sighed as he braced himself to get thoroughly soaked. There was no way he was going to let you beat him inside.

The heaviness of the rain muffled his footsteps as he made his way past you undetected to swing the door open for you with an exaggerated bow.

“Ladies first,” he said trying to keep a straight face as you stood in the rain with your hands on your hips scowling at him.

His heart skipped as he took in the sight of you, hair wet and mussed, clothes drenched. He tried not to laugh at you as you stuck your nose up in the air to walk past him, but the humor was cut short as he watched your hips purposely sway on your way to the elevator.

The doors opened as soon as the call button was pressed, and he couldn’t help but spin you around and press you against the back wall of the car. He pushed his tongue past your lips and reveled in the warmth your mouth had in contrast to the coldness the rain had brought to the remainder of your clothes and skin.

“I’m so glad you hit it off so well with them. I was afraid my dad was going to pick you apart,” you said after pulling back from his lips for a breath.

He chuckled. “Quite frankly, I was a bit nervous myself. I am happy that they found me suitable for their little girl.” He squeezed your buttocks as he ground his hips into you.

“Ignis Scientia, nervous? Now that’s one for the papers!” You pushed your own hips back into him, driving him senseless.

He let out a low growl as his lips attacked yours again. As he felt you start to move your leg up around him, the elevator doors opened again, still on the ground floor. In the heat of the moment, neither of you had the consciousness to choose the button for your floor. An older couple looked startled to see you and the two of you quickly parted from each other with some embarrassment.

The couple moved into the car with you, smiling mischievously at themselves. They looked the type to have gone on some wild romps of their own in their youth.

“15th floor please,” you spoke up when the gentleman chose the button for their floor.

You settled back against Ignis’s side as he wrapped his arm behind you. He couldn’t help but steal another squeeze from your buttocks in the process.  
                    ____________

As December came and winter made itself known in the city, Ignis’s thoughts drifted to how quickly the past year had gone. It was coming up on the first anniversary of the day Noctis and Prompto had set the two of you up on the “date” in the park. How quickly the two of your lives had become inseparable could only be the doing of the Astrals.

More days than not, he was finding himself feeling lonely without your presence ever at his side. Since speaking to your father about the prospect of you moving in with him, he could not stop thinking about it and yearned for it even more. He had decided that the new year would be the best time to bring the subject up to you.

Having already received your parents grace, he had double checked the other minutiae involved in making this happen. He didn’t want to give you any excuse besides your own personal thoughts on the matter when he broached the topic.

The two of you decided to celebrate the anniversary in the same fashion of that infamous day last year. The two of you laughed at each other as you ice skated, neither of your skills having improved much in the interim. You caught a movie together and then had a small lunch together at the same café as before.

As the day wore down, you perused a few vendor stalls set up around the central fountain of the park and bought some hot cocoa. The two of you made your way to sit on the fountain’s retaining wall and Ignis suddenly felt a twinge of anxiety. He knew better than to let his emotions rule his head, but he wanted so bad for you to live with him that he had already made up his mind that there was no way you would say no to it. But what if you did? a small voice inside his head suggested to him.

You were watching some children playing as Ignis took a deeper breath in through his nose and finally broke the silence. “There was something I wanted to ask you today.”

“Yeah?” you asked curiously.

“I wanted to see if you would be interested in moving in with me?” he said looking to you with hopefulness.

Your face had become unreadable as your seemed to shrink into your thoughts. It was likely only a matter of seconds, but it was enough to make his heart start to clench. He had to fight back the alien fear of tears as he tried to rationalize his idea to you.

“If it’s too soon, I understand. I-I just thought it would be a way for us to be able to spend more time together and it would put you closer to the Citadel and make it easier for you to get to work,” he explained as his pragmatic side took back over his mind.

“Oh, no, Iggy, it’s not that! I’d love to. It’s just, is it okay?” you stuttered out.

“Okay?” he asked in confusion. He wasn’t sure what you meant. He had thought he had checked and double checked every nuance involved.

“I mean, with your position and all. No one is going to look at you in a bad light for it, will they?” you explained your thoughts to him.

He honestly hadn’t dwelled too much on that subject. In today’s society, living together before marriage was more of the norm than not. His apartment lease was through the Crownsguard and when he discussed what was involved in adding you on to it with Cor, he hadn’t as much as batted an eyelash at the request.

He chuckled at your concern. “You worry too much about what people think. It is no such problem. It is not as if I am being hounded by the media on a daily basis. Noct, on the other hand, would be a different story. I already spoke with the people I would need to get you listed on the lease and your parents are okay with it.”

“Oh, okay,” you breathed out. He was amused by the fact that his last words hadn’t registered with you yet. As quickly as your stature had relaxed, you straightened back up with a startle and looked at him.

“What do you mean my parents are okay with it? When did you even…”

Ignis interrupted you with a laugh. “I had been thinking about this for a few months now. I spoke with your father when we went out for dinner.”

You punched teasingly in the arm. “You’re a conniving thing, aren’t you?”

“Perhaps. That and I wanted to make sure you didn’t have any reason to turn me down,” he said with a playful curl of his lips.

“You do realize that you are getting more than just one boarder, right?” you reminded him.

“Ah, yes, your furry children, Kupo and Kweh have not been forgotten. I’ve already made sure there is no problem for them to join us in our home,” he added. He was a tactician after all and when he told you he wanted you to have no reason to turn him down, he meant it.

Our home, he thought back to his words. He could get used to saying more things like that.  
                    ____________

Within a month’s time, you had moved your things into Ignis’s apartment and the two of you began adjusting to what it was like to live together. He marveled at how your relationship quickly moved to the next level, being able to see each other at your barest and most private existence.

One of his first reminders of this came the day he was preparing dinner and failed to hear you come home. He had been listening to the radio when a particularly good song had come on. Caught up in the moment, he had begun dancing and singing along to the lyrics, something he would do quite often when he was alone and out of anyone else’s judging eyes. Your cat Kupo had been at his side since the moment he smelled the shrimp hitting the skillet, so he had bent down to give him a few morsels and continued singing, directing the lyrics to her. When he stood back up he almost summoned his daggers from the Armiger out of the shock of you standing behind him with a knowing grin on your face. He had to think hard of another time he had been so truly embarrassed. You laughed so hard at him that you almost choked and then moved to join his side. You turned the radio up louder and started singing and dancing horribly yourself, bumping your hips into his to encourage him to join in again.

Unfortunately, your first awkward moment with him was not quite as pleasant. He had an idea already, but living with you reconfirmed his suspicion that you had quite the temperamental stomach. One evening after dinner, you had quickly excused yourself to the restroom with a look of distress. He had become distracted by a show on TV and hadn’t realized just how long you had been in there until he heard a soft groan of displeasure coming from the bathroom. He made his way to the door to knock softly and ask if you were ok. Your response sounded horrid, and in concern, he insisted he come in to check on you. You begged him not to do so, but he would have none of your insecurities come in his way of assuring your well-being. He found you a trembling, pale mess hunched over on the toilet, giving him a mortified look. He had seen Noctis in rawer moments than this, and as he sat on the side of the tub beside you to rub your back, he reassured you there was nothing to be embarrassed about. When your stomach had settled enough for him to help you move to the couch, he made you some tea and covered you with a blanket to keep you warm.

With the good, also came the bad.

He knew your apartment hadn’t always been the tidiest. You were no means comparable to the level Noctis could take it, but it was still enough to make him cringe at times. You had no problem with leaving your dirty clothes piled in the corner of the bedroom instead of in the hamper five feet away and often left books and yarn from your crocheting lying about on the floor and couch. He stopped himself a few times from chastising you about it, deciding that it was a minor character flaw that wasn’t worth the possibility of upsetting you.

Unfortunately, a particularly bad day at work had him in a foul mood and made him forget his sentiments on the matter. You had sent him a text earlier that you had managed to get off work early, which only made his day worse, knowing you were home enjoying your time while he suffered at the hands of Cor and Drautos.

When he came in the door, he saw you crocheting on the couch, supplies spread out everywhere in the living room. He marveled at how much space you could take up with one small project.

He made his way out to the kitchen to grab an Ebony and noticed your dirty dishes from lunch still in the sink. You hadn’t even scraped the leftovers into the garbage. You were home all day and couldn’t take five minutes to do this simple task? He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself but couldn’t help but slam them around in the sink more than necessary as he warmed the water to wash them.

He felt your presence at his side as you offered to take over washing them for him. “I can finish,” you attempted, but he cut you off a bit more gruffly that he intended.

“I got it.”

You backed away from him and ran your hand through your hair. After a pause you added, “I didn’t make anything for dinner, I thought we could just order in tonight.”

He couldn’t even answer you. It wasn’t that he minded take-out, but how many times has he come home exhausted and still cooked dinner for the two of you?

He pushed past you to discard the handful of food scraps in the garbage. When the lid lifted he was greeting by a bin almost overflowing, yarn scraps and some other refuse that was obviously yours graced the top. His patience snapped.

“This is what I can’t take,” he said, hands fisting as he turned to you with frustration. “If you dirty something, just take care of it then instead of letting it sit. Dishes, garbage, clothes!” he threw his hands up in the air.

Now that he had brought his feelings to the surface, his anger from the day joined his frustrations with you.

He would have expected your response to be apologetic perhaps, if not demure, so he was surprised when he saw your lips purse in reciprocated anger.

“Well maybe if you just relaxed for a change, shit like that wouldn’t bother you! It’s not the end of the world! I had some free time today and I wanted to spend it doing something I enjoy, not keeping this place endlessly spotless for you!” you raised your voice to him.

He was taken aback by your tone and indignity at his appreciation for cleanliness.

“I am the one that invited you into this apartment with me! The least you can do is respect me for it!” he was practically shouting at you now.

“Yeah, well then maybe moving in with you was just a bad idea!” you yelled back.

He watched as you stormed off to slip on your shoes and your hoodie and slammed the door behind you as you left. What the hell had just happened, he thought to himself? He could feel a knot in his throat when he thought back to what the two of you had just said to each other over something so petty. He regretted it immediately as he realized most of it stemmed from his own foul mood from work.

His thoughts then turned to where you could have gone, and he grew concerned that you perhaps had gone out for a walk out on the streets and would be too distracted by your anger to be aware of your surroundings.

He put his jacket and shoes back on and went out to look for you. He noticed that the elevator was coming down when he pressed the call button and sighed in relief when he realized you must have gone to the roof lookout instead of leaving the building.

He stepped through the doors to the outside and saw you sitting on a bench that overlooked the night skyline of the city. You looked small and withdrawn with your knees drawn up and hugged by your arms. You also looked like you had been crying. His guilt hit him even harder to think that he had hurt you in such in such a ridiculous way.

He sat down at the bench beside you, staring straight ahead as he pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose.

He was trying to form his words when you spoke first. “I’m sorry…”

He sighed and turned his head down before interrupting you. “No, it was I who was out of line. I was tired and said things I didn’t mean. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

You answered him back quickly. “I didn’t really mean the things I said either. I just got angry at you being angry at me.”

He swallowed thickly as he thought of ever losing you ran through his mind.

“I love you,” he said as he slid closer to you and pulled you against him to hug you to his chest. “I don’t care if you turn the place upside down, I don’t ever want to fight like that again.”

“Iggy,” you sighed. “I love you too. And I’ll clean the tile on the kitchen floor with a toothbrush everyday if it means we don’t fight any more, too.”

That finally drew a chuckle out of both of you. “Well, it’s settled then. We’ll both try to be more tolerant of each other, agreed?”

“Agreed,” you answered.

He leaned down to draw you into a kiss as his hands started to roam up your sides. “Perhaps we should go back inside?”

“Good idea,” you agreed.

He intended on making up his temper to you in more ways than one tonight.  
                    ____________

Not surprisingly, Ignis found himself with a full day’s schedule on his 22nd birthday. By the time he made it home it was late in the evening.

As he worked his key into the apartment door, he caught the smell of a roast permeating the air. As he stepped inside another scent came to mind as well. Did she bake a cake, too? He wondered how you had time to prepare all of this after getting off work and thought perhaps you had taken the day off without telling him.

He paused just inside the door to take his shoes off and sat his briefcase down on the entry table. He heard some rustling in the kitchen and then the sound of your feet padding into the room.  
  
“Good evening darling…” he trailed off as he turned to you.

Astrals strike me dead, he thought to himself. You had on his apron and apparently nothing else from what he could tell.

You handed him a glass of wine as you swirled yours and took a sip. “Good evening to you too, birthday boy,” you said coyly as you turned to walk back out to the kitchen. “Dinner should be ready any minute.”

His assumptions were correct. The view of your swaying, bare backside as you walked away put him in a trance. He stood rooted where he was, wine glass forgotten in his hand.

You paused just before going into the kitchen to speak. “You’re welcome to join me,” you enticed him. “I don’t bite…too hard.”

His body finally returned to his own control as he pushed his glasses up in disbelief. How did you know about one of his biggest fantasies of you? He tried to think if he had ever mentioned it but was certain he hadn’t. Astrals, if you only realized what you had just done to him. He was certain his cock had just set some type of record on how quickly it got hard.

He made his way out to the kitchen and up behind you as you stood facing away from him at the counter. He sat his wine glass down in front of you and moved his hands under the apron to grasp at your breasts. He reflexively pushed his cock into you.

“You have no idea what you have just done,” he growled into your ear, biting down on the lobe.

He spun you around and hoisted you up around his waist to turn to the dining table. He swept the place setting aside, not caring if the dishes broke on the floor, as he sat you down.

You let out a surprised, “Oh!” in response.

He moved back to take in the sight of you as he instructed you to lean back.

Your lips curled up with a smirk as you leaned back onto your elbows for him.

“Put your legs up,” he said to you next. As long as you were going along with this he was going to play out his fantasy with you.

Smirk still on your face, you obliged him by moving back some and pulling your knees up to rest your heels on the edge of the table. The motion spread your legs nicely for him, giving him a view of your sex peeking out from under the apron. He couldn’t take his eyes off it, as he palmed his erection through his pants to give himself some relief.

He finally made eye contact with you. You looked like you could be a centerfold in a dirty magazine, one made for his eyes only. As he felt his cock twitch in response, he decided it would be best to go get a condom now, before things went any further.

“Don’t move,” he demanded with a snarl as he turned to stalk back to the bedroom.

He moved as quickly as he could to retrieve one from his nightstand, the thoughts of you lying debauched on the dining table spurring him on.

He returned to you and all but slammed the condom down beside you in his haste to get back to work. Without uttering a word, he knelt in front of you and hoisted your legs onto his shoulders to act out the next part of fantasy. He spread you wide with his hands as his tongue went to work assaulting your clit.

The noises that started coming from you made him even harder, if that was at all possible. He noticed you sitting up to watch him through lidded eyes and he moved to slide two fingers into your already dripping entrance. He broke his mouth away from you long enough to give you another order. At this point, his mind had shut down to the point that he was only capable of stringing a few coherent words together.

“Take that apron off,” he growled.

As you obeyed him, he reached up to tease one of your now bared nipples and set back to work on you with his tongue. You collapsed back down, moaning his name and threading your hands through his hair. He felt the barest of tremors in your legs and recognized the start of your climax building. He quickly pulled his mouth and fingers off you. This elicited a disappointed groan from you as you arched your back off the table.

He couldn’t hold out any longer. He wanted to draw this out, but he also wanted to bury himself inside you and take you fast and hard, like he had often imagined. He couldn’t be bothered with removing his clothes, and instead, undid his zip far enough to free his erection. He hastily tore the wrapper open and rolled the condom down his length. Pausing only long enough to make consenting eye contact, he thrust into you fully with one snap of his hips. The mewl you let loose had to be one of the best sounds he ever heard escape your lips.

He felt your legs wrap around him and he gripped onto your hips harder. He could tell you weren’t going to last long, and he was certain he wasn’t going to either. He moved one of your legs from around him to place it up in the air to rest on his shoulder. He held onto it with both arms as he picked up his pace to be rougher than he had ever been with you before.

He felt your legs start to tremble again and heard your nails trying to claw purchase onto the table.

You had to come before him for this to be perfect, he thought to himself as he let out a low, feral growl. He issued you one final command.

“Come for me, kitten.”

You tilted your head up to look at him and held his gaze. You were panting and sweat ran down your neck and trickled over your collarbone to run between your breasts which were bouncing in time with his thrusts.

He felt you start to clench down on him in waves as your orgasm washed over you. He didn’t spare you any pause as he continued to thrust through your release.

“Fuck, Iggy,” you groaned out, writhing with over sensitivity at his relentlessness.

Your lewd language finally broke him as he felt the pressure in his groin burst. He thrust into you a few more times, burying himself as deep into you as he could as his seed spilled out into the condom.

He almost didn’t recognize his own vocalizations as he moaned loud enough for half the city to hear him. He left go of your leg as he collapsed down to his palms on either side of your hips, chest heaving with his breaths.

When he was able to string together a proper sentence again, he pulled you up to sit and peppered you with kisses.

“Astrals, y/n. I am so sorry. Was I too rough? I…you made me lose all control of myself.” He pulled you into a deeper kiss.

You pulled back from the kiss to assuage him. “Absolutely not. This was so insanely hot. I’m not going to be able to quit thinking about it,” you trailed your lips down his neck. “And to think I was afraid you were going to laugh at me,” you chuckled.

“Laugh at you?” Ignis questioned. Why on Eos did she think I was going to laugh at her? “I’m going to let you in on a little secret.” It was his turn to trail his mouth on your neck and up to your ear, giving you little licks along the way. “One of my first fantasies of you was in the kitchen we first met each other in. You’d come up behind me in nothing but an apron and then I’d take you while you were laying on the counter.”

He thought back to the days after he first saw you. He couldn’t understand why he couldn’t get you out of his thoughts, especially those lurid ones. If only he had known then what you would become to him, he thought to himself with a grin.

You pulled back to look him in the eyes and seemed a bit shocked. So, you really had no idea what you were doing this evening, after all.

“Well, then, maybe we need to talk about our fantasies to each other a little more,” you suggested as you pulled him in for another kiss and moved forward on the table to wrap you legs around him again.

You broke the kiss off suddenly and leaned back. “Did you really call me kitten?” you asked.

“Huh?” he thought out loud. He pondered it briefly and realized that during the heat of the moment he did indeed call you that. He could feel his already sex-flushed cheeks warm a little more. “I-I suppose I did,” he chuckled.

You hummed as you squeezed your legs a little tighter around him and moved your lips back his, grazing them with yours as you spoke.

“I really liked that.”

You pushed your tongue into his mouth and kissed him languidly. The thought that his words alone could turn you on made his cock start to come back to life again. Well, this is another one for the records, he thought to himself. He hadn’t even bothered to take the first condom off yet.

You had noticed his renewed erection and pushed yourself into it with a look of amusement.

“I do believe you have utterly broken me tonight, _kitten_ ,” he said, his voice deepening again. He was going to make sure to put that word to good use from now on. “Shall we perhaps indulge a fantasy of yours now? We might as well build up a healthy appetite for the dinner you’ve made me.”

“It’s your birthday,” you said as you traced random circles on his chest. “I say we dig a little deeper into your mind for round two, hmm?”

He stared at you for a moment and you felt his cock twitch against your leg again. He thoughts went to taking you while you were dressed only in heels.

“Those high heels you have in the closet,” he purred. “I want you in them and nothing else.”

Your lips quirked up as you continued to trace invisible patterns on his chest. “Only if you wear nothing but your gloves.”

He couldn’t help but groan out loud at what you could have possibly fantasized about to think that up.

He quickly swept you off the table and made for the bedroom “I do hope your legs are strong enough?” he questioned, as he put you on your feet and proceeded to strip himself of his clothes.

As you rummaged in the closet for your heels, he took the used condom off and moved to his nightstand to get a new one.

“For you? They can stand whatever you can give them,” you said as you put the shoes on and walked seductively up to him.

He retrieved his gloves from the top of the dresser and pulled them on in front of you, making sure to put on a show of wriggling his fingers into them. He let out a soft groan as he took in the sight of you in front of him in those heels with your legs spread slightly apart. He stalked around behind you as he stroked himself with his gloved hands. Perhaps you had something with this fantasy of yours, he thought. The extra sensation of the rough leather was intense. He tore the new condom wrapper open and wasted no time putting it on.

“Well, then, let’s see how much they really can take,” he said as he turned you towards the bed, putting a hand on your back to bend you over. He slid his knee between your legs to push them wider apart.

The heels elevated your buttocks to just the right height for him to have perfect access to take you from behind. He took a moment to admire how they curved into the air, just for him.

He leaned over you as he thrust in, placing one of his gloved hands over your mouth.

“We’re going to play a game kitten. Don’t make a sound and I might just let you come first,” he leaned back, removing his hand from your mouth to grab a handful of your backside as he continued to thrust into you.

Something on a whole other level had sparked between the two of you that evening. He almost didn’t recognize himself with his actions but decided now wasn’t the time to question it. He had a little kitten under him that he needed to teach to be quiet.  
                    ____________

The sun was shining brightly, and a light breeze rustled the newly formed leaves in the trees lining the streets on that first Saturday in May in the city.

It normally would have given Ignis pause to reflect on his blessings, but he had just come from an early and unplanned meeting that had left his head spinning and his instincts raw with distrust.

The Niflheim Empire had laid the grounds for a peace treaty that left little to no negotiation on the side of Lucis. He wanted to think that this could be the end to the years of war and unrest, but his mind screamed that something was amiss.

He returned to your shared apartment in the early afternoon mulling over what details to give you and which to leave out. He wanted you to be informed, but not rife with worry over the minutiae of these unsettling developments.

You were sitting on the couch, crocheting what looked to be a small chocobo toy when he came in the door. He sighed, hoping the peace of your world wouldn’t soon be destroyed. He offered you a weak smile and he could tell you knew something was wrong.

“Is everything alright?” you questioned him.

He sat down beside you with a sigh. “I’d like to think it is, but I am still a bit uneasy.” He contemplated his words carefully before proceeding. He realized he had been unconsciously picking at his pants and stilled his hands. “The Empire met with King Regis and gave him an ultimatum on peace terms.”

“Well, peace terms are good, right?” you offered.

He sighed again, started to speak, and then closed his mouth. He turned to face you when he finally found the right words. “The king has agreed to their terms. He will relinquish all remaining territories of Lucis for the freedom and safety of Insomnia alone.”

He watched as your face ran the gambit of several emotions, settling on one of unease. “How do you think the people will react?”

“It’s hard to say. I’m sure there will be people on both sides, but they are hopeful the majority will be in support.” Ignis sat there as you still looked to him as if you knew there was more to this, and you were right. The detail he had yet to tell would more directly affect your lives together.

“There is one more term the King agreed to.” He paused and hung his head down before looking to you again. “Noct is to marry Lady Lunafreya.”

Your eyes widened a little, but you didn’t speak. He continued.

“According to the Empire, it is a way for Insomnia to show they are willing to commit fully to the terms of peace. An ‘olive branch’ if you would.” He gave pause to let you digest this information.

“Or a way to keep their claws in us,” you finally said.

Ignis hummed in agreement with you. “Noct has kept in touch with Luna by a journal throughout most of their lives. Granted it has been twelve years since he has seen her last, but he has full trust in her intentions. She is most likely being thrust into this situation the same as he is.”

“But is Noct really ok with this? I mean, Prompto, you know, and…” You trailed off when he nodded to you. That was also the first place his thoughts had gone to upon hearing this. However painful it would be, it is something that Noctis has known would be expected of him and been groomed for most of his life. A king needs a queen and an heir if their lineage is to continue.

“Noct, as much as he doesn’t act it, has known for much of his life that most of his choices regarding it would never be his own,” Ignis reassured you. “I am sure it is breaking his heart, but it is something he has known would be expected of him some day. If not Luna, it would have been another woman. Despite what the Kings of Lucis have ever wanted for themselves, they must carry on their lineage through a legitimate child.” Ignis pushed his glasses up to rub the bridge of his nose. Just because it is the reality of the matter doesn’t mean he has to like it either.

“I suppose, then, it is a bit of a blessing that it is Lady Lunafreya, then,” you commented, still trying to pull what hope you could out of the situation.

“It will make things more comfortable for him, that is for sure,” he agreed with you.

He turned to face you again, pulling his legs up on the couch and taking your hands in his. “There is one more thing with all of this you need to know.” The concerned look on your face made him hesitate for a moment. “The wedding is going to be in Altissia. There is no firm date, yet, but it will be soon. For now, I know for sure that Gladio and I will accompany him on the journey to ensure his safety. I will be gone for at least a few weeks.”

He could tell you were trying to put on a brave face for him, but he knew you too well and could see through it. You finally nodded your acceptance and he pulled you to his chest and wrapped his arms around you.

“I’m sure everything will turn out for the best and we will be back in the city before you know it,” he tried to reassure you, but no even he was finding it hard to hide the waiver in his voice.

“Yeah,” you said as you let your head settle into his chest. “I’m sure it will.”  
                    ____________  
  
Ignis arrived home just after you did on the evening of May 11th. He had taken a call from Cor on the elevator and was trying to juggle a few bags as he came through the door.

“Yes, very well. Of course. We will get underway early tomorrow then.” So, this was it, he thought to himself as he ended the call. He gave you the best smile he could muster as you helped take some of the things off his hands.

“Well, we are to leave the day after tomorrow for Altissia,” he informed you.

You nodded to him and moved to wrap your arms around him and give him a kiss. He noticed you looking at the Crownsguard issued backpack he had brought home for you.  
“Packing already, then?” you asked him.

“Actually, no, that is for you. I will explain in a moment, lets settle down first,” he said lifting a take-out bag up for you to see. If he started discussing anything now, the food would surely go uneaten.

The two of you settled on the couch and dug into the food he had divided between you. He waited until it was mostly gone before starting to speak.

“This will be my last night home until after this trip is completed. I will be helping Noct clean out his apartment tomorrow, so we can get his things moved back into the Citadel before we leave. Prompto will be accompanying us now as well, per Noct’s request. We are planning to spend the night at the Citadel, so we can be off early the next morning,” he informed you.

“Okay. So, do you know how long you will be gone?” you questioned.

“Unfortunately, not as of yet. Some things are still undetermined at the moment. The Empire has yet to settle on a firm date for the treaty signing.” He was loathe to leave you in the city with so many uncertainties. “That is what this is for,” he said getting up and bringing the backpack over. He opened it up and handed it to you.

He watched as you looked inside. It was a field bag that they typically took on missions outside of the city. Besides a first aid kit, there was various potions and non-perishable food rations.

“There is plenty of room in there for a change of clothes and some incidentals. I suggest you pack it now to be prepared. The bag itself is water-resistant to an extent,” he explained. He felt a bit sick at the confused look on your face.

“I-I don’t understand, Iggy. Why would I need something like this? Isn’t everything being done on terms of peace?” your voice was quiet and a bit unsteady.

He sighed and found himself unable to look you in the eyes as he explained further. “We are all hoping for that. I guess my instinct is making me second guess their intentions.” He looked up to you then. “I want to assure you that you will be safe here, but I don’t want to take any chances. If anything happens, take this bag and get out. Gladio and Clarus have given the same instructions to Iris. I also put Monica’s phone number in the first aid kit for you. She is a Crownsguard officer and can help you should the need arise.”

He and Gladio had both pleaded their case to Clarus that you and Iris should be moved out of the city for the duration of the negotiations, but he had firmly declined. He felt that if word of it spread, it would only breed unease and distrust among the public.

“Iggy…” you started but then seemed to lose your words.

“Just remain vigilant and attentive, especially when you are out or at work. I am only a phone call or a text away, don’t forget.” He brought his hand up to cup your chin and run his thumb over your lip, searching your eyes.

“I know. I’ll be alright. We can only take things a day at a time, right?” you offered to him.

“Right,” he smiled back at you. He took the plate of half-finished food that you were now pushing around with your fork and sat it on the coffee table. He stood and pulled you up to your feet with him. “Let’s start by making the most of what time we have together for now.”

That seemed to be enough to put you at ease for the moment as your eyes darkened a bit. Astrals, it was going to be an eternity without you the next few weeks, he thought.  
  
“That sounds marvelous to me,” you said as he tugged you towards the bedroom.      

                    ____________

Ignis awoke early the next morning, stirred by you sighing at his side.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you,” you said curling closer to him and planting a kiss on his lips as he rolled over to face you. You seemed to be almost fully awake. He wondered how long you had been watching him sleep.

“It’s all right,” he said, words running together as he tried to rouse himself from slumber. He turned his head to yawn broadly and stretch his arms. He pulled them back down to his side and then moved to pull your bare bodies back together. “Gives us just a bit more time for this,” he said as he kissed you and rolled you onto your back, moving to lie on top of you.

“Hmm. True,” you laughed as he tickled your face with his morning stubble and peppered you with kisses.

Your love-making the night before had been passionate and desperate, but this morning put that to shame. Your bodies were so entwined it was hard to know where he ended and you began. His thrusts and kisses were deep and languid as the two of you clung to each other. You held each other’s gaze as you called to each other through your shared climax. He thought his heart was going to burst from all the love he felt for you at that moment.

Neither of you wanted to be the first to get out of bed that morning, but Ignis finally conceded with a sigh that he had best to get ready to be on his way, lest he be late. You sat on the couch with a mug of coffee in your hands and a blanket around your shoulders with a neutral expression on your face as he readied himself to leave.

You finally made your way over to the door to join him once he had slid on his shoes and jacket. You sighed as you wrapped your arms around him and rested your head on his chest. The two of you held each other like that for a few minutes, drinking in each other’s warmth and scent as a memento for the time you would be apart. He finally pulled back from the embrace and tilted your chin up to look in his eyes.

“Just remember what we talked about last night and everything should be fine,” he said as he kissed you. You chased him back for another when he pulled back.

“l love you, Iggy. Please be safe,” you said as you straightened the lapel on his jacket.

“I love you, too, y/n. We’ll be together again before either of us knows it. Call me if you have any fears at all. I am still here for you even though it is not in person.”

He waited for the elevator as he stood in front of it with his luggage. As the doors opened, he turned to see, still in your pajamas, leaning in the doorway to the apartment. You gave each other a small wave as he entered the car. As the doors closed and the elevator descended, so too did his heart at the thought of what may be to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, these chapters were a bear to write for some reason, but here they are! I’ve been trying to keep the sex vanilla in this work to focus more on the depth of the relationship than that, but man, Ignis and kinks go together like spaghetti and meatballs. Sorry not sorry  
> ( /)u(\ )


	17. The Fall Part 1 (1 of 2 parts)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May 16th...the day the city fell. 
> 
> Well folks, I finally finished the next set of chapters! So sorry it took me forever (6 weeks? *cringe*) I really didn’t plan on this timing. When I saw some posts going up on tumblr about today’s date it was too much of a coincidence and gave me the kick in the ass to get these up.  
> I struggled an unbelievable amount getting these out how I wanted. I couldn’t figure out why at first, but then it dawned on me - the whole world of my story was being turned upside down. And they are long. I couldn’t do it any other way - so I broke the reader’s POV chapter into 2 parts to make it a little easier.  
> So anyhow, buckle up and enjoy the angst! I promise all things will heal with time!

May 13th M.E. 756

The first morning you had awoken to an empty bed in months was a hard one. As you sighed at the lack of Ignis’s warmth beside you, Kweh uncurled himself from the foot of the bed to stretch and make his way up to you. He purred as he tried to rub his scent on every inch of your face. He kneaded at your arm as he stared questioningly at the empty pillow beside you. He had taken quite fondly to Ignis in just a few short months.

“I know. You miss him already, too, huh?”

He meowed back in agreement.

You silently thanked the Six that today was a Sunday. Ignis and the guys were leaving from the Citadel that morning, and had you been at work, the urge to see him again before he left would have been too great. You didn’t think you could take a second goodbye.

You were almost ready to fall back into slumber when you were jolted to consciousness again by a hard headbutt from Kweh. Kupo joined you up on the bed and a chorus of hungry meows ensued.

“Really? Can’t we just sleep in a little longer?” you questioned them.

You were answered by another round of meows that were growing more insistent. You attempted to ignore them again. You had already decided that today was going to be a lazy day of doing absolutely nothing and you had been counting on sleeping past 7 a.m. for a change.

You groaned when a paw batted at your closed eyelids in an attempt to keep that from happening.

“Alright! Alright! Astrals forbid you starve!” you chuckled as you sat up and ruffled their heads.

You stood from the bed and stretched. “Let’s go eat, chubby bunnies!”  
  
May 14th M.E. 756

The very air in the Citadel seemed electric as you returned to work that Monday. As you sat your purse down on your desk, Hallie came out of the manager’s office and gave you a wave.

“Everything ok?” you asked her with a look of concern.

You hadn’t expected her to already be in for the day, let alone meeting with the boss so early in the morning.

“Yeah, have you heard?” she asked you.

You shook your head. “Heard what?”

“I guess you did just get here,” she paused in thought. “The treaty signing is going to be on Wednesday.” She looked somewhat concerned for a moment.

You knew that it was going to be coming up, but really hadn’t expected it so soon. That would explain the atmosphere in this place today, you thought to yourself.

Hallie seemed to pick up on what you were thinking.

“I guess the Empire’s delegates started arriving yesterday,” she continued. “They called me in early today to see if I still wanted to work that day. They are closing the Citadel to the public and all unnecessary staff are being given the day off. They wanted to know if I would help register the guests as they arrive for the ceremony.”

“Oh. They didn’t ask me,” you felt slighted, but supposed it was for the best.

You were planning on meeting your parents for dinner that evening. Your father’s final treatment was that afternoon and you had made reservations to go out to celebrate.

Hallie looked awkward and guilty for bringing this up to you.

“No, no! It’s ok, though. I promised my mom and dad I would meet them for dinner that evening. He is finishing up at the clinic that day. I don’t want to miss that!”

She seemed to be relieved. “Of course! That’s more important than being here,” Hallie agreed. “Family is the most important thing!”

As you nodded in agreement, an unsettling feeling crept up your throat. A small voice in your head urged you to discourage her from coming in to work that day, to warn her to be careful as Ignis had warned you. Your rational side, however, couldn’t think of a good enough reason to rouse any suspicion in her.

“I’m sure it’s going to be a once in a life time event for you, though,” you finally managed with a weak smile.

“Right?!” she exclaimed, getting a little giddy at the thought. “I wonder who I’ll get to see! I’m getting butterflies just thinking about it!”

“I’m sure,” you agreed half-heartedly. You just couldn’t bring yourself to share the same excitement that she had about the day.

May 15th M.E. 756

As you arrived at work the next day, you were surprised to see large banners decorating the main gates into the Citadel. They announced the treaty signing planned for the next day. You puzzled at how quickly they must have been produced and hung. You supposed an event this big would be spared no expense.

You made your way to the reception desk in the lobby, dodging a myriad of workers scurrying about as they readied things for the signing.

You heard quick steps approaching as Hallie rushed to catch up to you.

“Busy day already, huh?” she said as the two of you avoided running into a man carrying a large ladder.

The two of you had to scoot around another worker using a machine to wax the marble floors in the lobby. Hallie gave him a coy smile and a wink, drawing a chuckle from you.

“You’re such a tease! Why don’t you just ask him out already?” you questioned as you elbowed her in jest.

“Because, this is the best part! The teasing, the flirting, playing hard to get!”

She batted her lashes at you as you rolled your eyes and laughed.

As you settled down at your desk, you were unsurprised to find out that all tours were cancelled for the day. Instead of being sent home, you were given the task of cross-checking the current guest list to the new ones submitted by both sides that morning. Some of the names had your eyes widening in surprise. Ravus Nox Fleuret and the infamous General Glauca were among the most notable.

You glanced up at Hallie as she practiced how she was to greet the arriving guests. You should have been happy for her to have this opportunity, but you still just couldn’t help but feel uneasy about the whole thing.

When you left at the end of the day, you suddenly had the urge to give her a hug when you parted in the parking garage. She looked perplexed.

“Um. It’s only one day that we aren’t going to be working together, you know,” she teased you.

You laughed. “I know. I just…Just be careful tomorrow, that’s all.”

There, you finally said it without being to conspicuous. And Hallie being Hallie, she brushed it off anyhow.

“I don’t have anything to worry about. I’m going to have some big, bad Kingsglaive men guarding me!” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

“You’re hopeless!” you laughed as you playfully waved her off as you walked away to your car.

“I hope everything goes good for you tomorrow, too! Tell your dad I’m proud of him!” she hollered out to you as she got in her car.

“I will!” you replied as you got into yours as well.

**********  
The apartment was all too quiet when you finally stepped through the door.

You warmed up a meal that Ignis had prepared for you before he left and settled on the couch.

Turning your attention to your phone, you realized you had a missed call and a few texts from him and sighed. It was still on vibrate, so you hadn’t heard it while you were leaving work and driving home. It figured that he would try to get in touch with you at that exact time.

He didn’t leave a voicemail, so you read his texts.

 **Ignis:** Just checking in to see you’re doing : ) We had a spot of car trouble. I’m sure you can guess who was behind the wheel : /

You chuckled to yourself. It could have only been Prompto. He was a notoriously careless driver. Hell, he could hardly walk down the street without tripping over a crack in the sidewalk because something distracted him.

His next message was time stamped about twenty minutes later.

 **Ignis:** We are about to leave Hammerhead. We are going to try to make it part way to Galdin Quay this evening. I was hoping to hear from you, but I suppose you would just be on your way home from work. I’ve heard the cell coverage in southern Leide is spotty at best, so I will try to call you again perhaps tomorrow evening. I cannot wait until we are back together again. I already miss sharing a bed with you (in more ways than one). Gladio snores loud enough to wake the dead and Prompto talks in his sleep. XOXO

You were tempted to message him back see if he knew about the signing but decided not to trouble him with it. Surely someone would have let them know about it, and if he wasn’t aware, they didn’t deserve to have their getaway ruined over needless worry. Still, it was strange that he didn’t bring it up.

You sent him a simple text back.

 **Y/n:** I’m doing fine. Be safe and mind the ‘kids’ lol. I’ll look forward to talking to you tomorrow. I miss you (in bed – wink, wink) as well. All my love. Xoxo

A rumbling sound followed by some popping drew your attention from your phone. You padded out to the kitchen to look out the window. The darkening evening sky was being lit up by fireworks. You remembered overhearing about the posh party being held tonight on the rooftop of the Via Caelum in honor of the signing.

You let yourself indulge in the idea of being in attendance yourself. Had Noctis not been sent off, there was a good chance you would have attended at Ignis’s side. You still shied away from the affluence you encountered with being close to the prince, but it nonetheless made your heart flutter to think of being part of the extravaganza on that rooftop that evening.

You hoped the gaiety of the event carried over to the signing ceremony the next day. Despite what Lucis was set to lose, it was still going to be a relief to see the increasingly frequent skirmishes in the borderlands come to an end. Enough Glaives had already sacrificed their lives, it was due time to let them rest.

You poured yourself a glass of wine and, slipping your shoes back on, made your way to the rooftop of your building to watch what was left of the display.

A few other residents had the same idea and were sitting on the scattered benches enjoying the moment. You found an empty bench for yourself and brought the camera up on your phone to take a few pictures. The fireworks showed rather nicely against the evening sky tinted pink on the horizon by the setting sun. You almost thought about sending them to Ignis, but hesitated. You decided you’d rather share them with him in person when you were together again.

May 16th M.E. 756

After getting up earlier in the morning to feed the cats, you allowed yourself to go back to sleep until well after 10 a.m. You didn’t have a day off during the week that often and it was almost impossible to sleep later than 7 a.m. when Ignis was home.

The dinner reservations you had made for you and your parents weren’t until 6 p.m. that evening, so you had plenty of time to do some chores while you watched the events leading up to the signing on TV. You were hoping to catch the signing itself before you left. It was scheduled for 5 p.m. Even with the detours around the Citadel, it shouldn’t take you more than twenty minutes to meet them. You had decided on the Golden Trident. It was the restaurant Ignis had taken you to on your first date and you thought it would be a nice treat for your dad, even if it was a little expensive.

Your father’s clinic was also close to the Citadel, so your parents were planning on stopping by one of the large screens set up around the main gates to watch the signing before they met you. You had asked them to come to the apartment instead, but they insisted that they wanted to just meet you for dinner.

**********  
The laundry had taken you longer than you expected. Apparently, half the building was off work that day and they all decided to use the facilities in the basement. After your last load finished drying, you headed back upstairs to start getting ready for dinner.

After showering, you had decided to just wear jeans with a nice shirt. The restaurant was more on the formal side, but you knew your parents were going to be wearing whatever they had on from being out at the clinic earlier. You decided it didn’t really matter what anyone thought of any of you. You were celebrating your father that night, not anyone else, and that was all that mattered.

As you left your hair air dry, you sipped on a mug of coffee and turned the TV back on. Almost every channel now had on live coverage from the Citadel.

You were surprised at the amount of people already lining the street to watch the signing on those big screens. You scanned the crowd to see if you saw anyone you knew, including your parents.

The newsfeed switched over to a group of protesters somewhere else in the city. They waved signs that denounced the king and the treaty and some of them were throwing things at the guards who were trying to keep them from getting too rowdy. You started to really wish your mother and father would have come straight to your apartment after his appointment after all.

You supposed you were worrying too much. What could possibly go wrong with so many people and security around?

Close to 5 p.m., your phone went off with a text from Hallie. Somehow, she had managed to take a few pictures of the arriving dignitaries and sent them to you. From the angle of the camera, you could tell she was trying to be inconspicuous as she took them. She sent a string of sweating emojis next.

You responded to her that you were sure she did great and couldn’t wait to talk to her the next day about everyone she got to meet. She sent you a simple thumbs up in response.

Your attention went back to the TV. The camera switched to the interior of the Citadel where the dignitaries from Niflheim were being seated. Emperor Iedolas was seated by himself in front of the table set up for the physical signing of the treaty. King Regis’s chair remained empty for the time being.

You looked at the time on your phone. 5:02. After another five minutes passed, it was obvious by the tone of the reporters and the body language of the awaiting dignitaries that they were starting to get restless.

At last, the king, accompanied by Clarus and the royal court, entered the room. His limp seemed to be worse that day than it had been recently. The commentator, with some relief, announced that the ceremony seemed to be finally underway.

You watched as King Regis took his seat beside the emperor. They seemed to exchange some words between each other, but it was hard to tell what was being discussed. Neither of their demeanors revealed any unexpected emotions.

Clarus approached the king and knelt beside him to whisper something in his ear. Regis nodded in agreement and spoke again to Iedolas. Still no strong emotions seemed to surface, but something just seemed odd with everything.

The ceremony proceeded as the two of them rose and walked to the table in front of their seats. The treaty was brought before them to mutually sign.

Outside, a loud rumble startled you. Kupo and Kweh, who had been sleeping on the couch beside you, skittered off in a panic to find a place to hide.

You went to the kitchen to look out the window, but nothing seemed amiss. After waiting for a moment to see if you heard anything else you shrugged it off and returned to the living room.

What you saw on the screen surely had to be someone’s sick idea of a joke. The emperor was holding what looked like a gun to King Regis’s head and dignitaries from both sides were drawing their weapons as well.

Quickly the newsfeed cut out and after a moment it switched over to a reporter covering the area in front of the Citadel. Smoke was billowing from the sides of an entrance gate where one of the screens had been set up. People could be seen both lying injured on the ground and frantically running from the scene.

Maybe someone had hacked the newsfeed and tampered with the video, you thought. This was almost too preposterous to believe. You heard a few more rumbles from outside and decided to head up to the rooftop to get a better look.

As you came through the doors, another large explosion tore through the city. A flash of movement overhead drew your attention upwards.

Astrals, you thought. The wall! The wall was disintegrating! You had to be imagining all of this. You weren’t sure how long you stood staring in disbelief, but the sound of a large aircraft interrupted your trance.

You had seen pictures of them before. Magitek engines. They were usually used by the Empire to transport their troops to skirmish zones. What were they doing here?

No! No, no, no! Your mind raced. This can’t be happening. Ignis’s concern was only a precaution. Nothing was supposed to come of it. You started to question your own reality. Were you really here experiencing this, or did you perhaps fall asleep on the couch this afternoon, and this was just your mind wandering through a nightmare?

Another large rumble shook the building and, as the reality of everything finally started falling into place, you felt the cold chill of panic rise through your spine.

Oh, no… mom, dad! Your stomach felt like it suddenly weighed twice its size. You had to call them. Your thoughts raced. And Hallie – she was probably still in the Citadel.

You hardly remembered how your feet carried you back down the stairs to your apartment. Your shaking hands could hardly hold your phone as you dialed your mother. She answered almost immediately.

“Y/n!” she cried. “What’s happening?”

You could hear your father shouting in the background along with what sounded like gunfire and other people screaming.

“I don’t know!” you said with a voice shaking as bad as your hands. You paced unconsciously as you spoke. Your breath was fast and shallow, and your vision swam.

“Oh Astrals, y/n! They’re shooting at people!” She sounded like she was crying.

“Mom - get dad and get inside somewhere! Where are you? I’m coming to get you!”

“We’re by the Lucian Bank about a block from the Citadel. Y/n! Stay where you are! Please, it’s not safe here!” she begged.

“I don’t care!” You were crying now as well. “Get dad and get inside now!”

You could hear some rustling and the sounds of gunfire grew steadily louder.

“Mom?!” You didn’t get an answer. “Mom!”

“Don’t…it’s not…” The next moments made your heart grow cold.

You could hear a metallic scraping sound, followed by what sounded like your father shouting again. You could hear others screaming again in the background. A loud explosion sounded both in your ear and echoed outside your apartment building.

The call dropped.

You frantically tried to call her number back, dropping the phone in panic in the process. It went straight to voicemail. You tried your father’s number and it was the same. After minutes of hitting redial, you decided to try Hallie’s number. As it rang, you begged aloud for her to answer, but her voicemail picked up as well.

Ignis! Oh, Astrals! What if something happened to him and the other guys? You dialed his number next.

‘All circuits are busy. Please try your call again later. Goodbye.’

You screamed out loud in frustration and fear.

You were on the verge of hyperventilating now. An icy feeling traveled down your arms to your fingers, leaving numbness in its wake. The edges of your vision started to darken.  
  
Sitting on the coffee table, you tried to compose yourself and stop yourself from passing out. As you focused on your breathing and got more oxygen to your brain, you were able to start forming some coherent thoughts again.

Glancing up, you noticed the bag Ignis had brought home for you sitting by the front door. You had taken his advice and had already thrown a change of clothes in it, even thought you thought it was silly at the time.

Another loud explosion echoed outside and gave you the final push you needed to move to action.

“Ok, y/n. You can do this. Get mom and dad and get out of the city,” you spoke out loud to yourself.

You remembered Ignis telling you Iris was given the same instructions as he gave you to get out of the city if there was trouble. Once you found your parents, maybe you could try to meet up with her, you thought. Ignis had given you that Monica lady’s number, maybe she could help. You tried both her and Iris and still got the ‘all circuits busy’ message.

You rushed around for a few moments to grab a few other incidentals you thought of to throw in the bag – the book you were currently reading, an envelope of your favorite photos, the few squares of the crochet blanket your grandmother had started… You realized with sadness that your mind was going to the things you were afraid you weren’t going to come back to.

Don’t be silly, you told yourself. A few days and things will settle enough to be home again.

On your way out, you filled a few extra bowls of water and food for your cats. They had themselves hid under the bed and refused to accept your attempts to both comfort them and coax them out. You threw on Ignis’s Crownsguard hoodie you had stolen from him a few months ago, just in case you needed it later, and made your way outside.

The muffled sounds of guns and explosions could be heard more distinctly as you raced to your car. There were more magitek engines overhead, as well. And what the hell was that?! you thought. High above the buildings you noticed a large flaming craft descending out of control, a large, tentacled creature wrapped around the descending end of it.

Without looking back, you hurriedly opened your driver’s door, threw your bag in, and squealed your tires as you floored your car onto the highway.

You made it surprisingly far before getting snarled in the traffic trying to flee the central city area. At this point, you were all sitting ducks for the Empire’s attack. You pulled your car halfway up on the curb, grabbed your bag, and headed down the street. You were only a few blocks from where you last knew your parents were.

As you ran to the location, you hardly registered the fact that you were the only one moving in that direction. Rounding the corner, the sight that befell you tore your heart in half. The Lucian Bank building and all the others on the block had been reduced to rubble and smoldering remains.

“No!!!” you cried and fumbled your phone out of your pocket to try to call your parents, again to no avail. The ‘all circuits busy’ message played in your ear once more.

You started towards the carnage when a small wail distracted you. A child was sitting against a still standing light post, hugging their knees to their chest, and clutching a moogle plushie in one hand. Who would leave a child behind in this? you thought as your mind went to the destruction around you.

Did their parents…did my parents?

They might had escaped, your tried to tell yourself as you started towards the child. A nagging feeling of familiarity bit at you as you bent down to kneel beside them.

“Sweetie, it’s not safe here,” you said putting a hand to their shoulder. “Come with me and we’ll find our moms and dads together.”

A pitiful hiccup escaped them as they looked to you with a dirty, tear-stained face. As you reached your hand to them, their eyes went wide in terror. They looked past you into the sky. A red glint shone in their pupils. It took you a moment to comprehend that you were seeing a reflection and turned to find almost certain death hurtling towards you.

Both the sounds of explosions and gunfire elsewhere and your distraction with the child, had left you oblivious to the disabled magitek engine falling from the sky in your direction. Ignis’s last words to stay vigilant replayed in your mind. You not only had failed him, but you were now bearing witness to how your own death would most certainly play out.

Refusing to accept your fate, you scooped the child into your arms and sprinted as fast as you could. By a miracle, you were able to just clear the impact zone, but you were still thrown to the ground and peppered with bits of concrete and pavement that the craft had pitched into the air.

Coughing as you breathed in dust and smoke, you slowly gained your senses back. A quick physical check found yourself intact but bruised and bleeding from some cuts on your forehead. Surprisingly, the backpack was still secured firmly on your shoulders and your phone had managed to stay in your pocket.

As you pulled yourself to your feet, you saw the moogle plushie on the ground a few feet from you. Your heart sunk.

A cry behind you drew your attention. To your relief, as you turned, you saw the child being pulled away by an adult that seemed to know them. It gave you some hope that your parents may still be safe as well.

The child started to struggle again the woman’s grip, grabbing the air in your direction.

“Moogy! Moogy!”

Of course, you thought, and turned to get the plushie for them. As you bent to pick it up, movement in front of you made you freeze. As you slowly stood back up, you were greeted by the sight of armored men crawling from the wreckage of the craft that had just crashed. Some of them were sparking and others tried to move with limbs bent in horrifying and unnatural directions. Whatever the hell these were, there was no way what was inside them could be human.

Moogle forgotten, you took off running behind the mother and child before you could learn more about the abominations you left behind.

You ran until your chest burned and your lungs were about to burst. At least the further you ran, the more the sounds of gunfire had faded into the background. Overhead, however, there was still a steady influx of magitek engines moving in over the city.

You collapsed down on the edge of a sidewalk to try to come up with some semblance of a plan as your heart continued to beat against your ribs. After a useless try to get through to anyone by phone again, you wrestled with the heart-wrenching decision to try to get out of the city on your own. The apartment you shared with Ignis was too close to the Citadel to be safe to return to and it would take you just as long to get to the west gate to escape to Leide, as it would to get to your parents’ house. You pushed the acidic taste of guilt back down your throat. How could you just abandon everyone? Your consciousness questioned you unapologetically. But Ignis did instruct you to leave if anything happened and you were not going to be of any use to anyone injured or dead.

As you began the miles-long walk to the west gate, your thoughts again returned to whether he was safe as well. If anything had happened to him…


	18. The Fall Part 1 (2 of 2 parts)

It was after dark when you walked up to the blockaded west gate. Halfway through your trek there, you were surprised as a car full of others trying to flee pulled over to offer you a ride. Circumstances of the day rid you of your caution of accepting rides from strangers. You were sure if you hadn’t, you would have collapsed from exhaustion miles back. You were hungry, thirsty, and your feet ached, but you were almost out - almost to safety.

You warily eyed up the Niff guards that had taken control of the gate up ahead. They were funneling all the escapees through the makeshift blockade they had set up. At least they didn’t seem to be giving anyone a hard time, you thought.

As you queued up in the barely moving line of others trying to leave the city, you contemplated getting in the backpack to see what kind of rations were in there. A voice interrupted your intentions.

“Hey! You work with Hallie, don’t you?”

You immediately snapped your head in the direction the voice came from. It was the maintenance worker that Hallie had been flirting with the day before. You moved back a few places in line to join him.

“Yeah. Have you heard from her? I can’t get any calls to go through to anyone,” you said to him with a thread of hope.

“No. Mine’s the same. I think they took out some cell towers and, with everyone in the city trying to call loved ones, the lines are just overwhelmed,” he said dejectedly.

The two of you stood in silence for a few moments.

“You really shouldn’t be wearing that right now.” He motioned with his head to Ignis’s hoodie you had on. The Crownsguard logo was emblazoned on the back.

“Shit. I didn’t even think about that.” You sat the backpack down so you could turn the hoodie inside out to hide the crest. Just to be cautious, you zipped it back up completely. It was getting cold with the sun having set a few hours ago, anyway.

“The name’s Mikah, by the way.” He extended his hand to you.

“Y/n,” you answered back, gripping his hand.

As the two of you slowly shuffled forward, you made small talk about what had transpired that day. You skirted around the fact that you were dating Ignis and were close to the prince. If it was something he was unaware of, there was no reason to bring it up now.

A commotion near the front of the line drew your attention. The chatting voices around you hushed to whispers. A few more men had approached. Judging by their clothes, they were apparently higher ranking than the others. A few of those human-less metal horrors accompanied them.

Mikah nudged you. “MTs,” he said looking towards one of them.

“Huh?” you questioned. “Empties?”

That was a suitable moniker for them, you thought.

“No, EM-TEES,” he emphasized. “Just the letters. I think it stands for magitek troopers, but I’m not sure. I heard some other men talking about them.”

The new guards whispered something to the ones already stationed there as they scanned the crowd you stood amongst.

“IDs!” one of the men finally shouted. “Have your IDs ready! No one leaves this city without proof of identity!”

You started to reach for yours in the backpack as Mikah pulled his from his wallet.

“Shit. Not good.” His face had paled.

“What?” you asked him with concern.

“Our IDs. They have the Crest of Lucis stamped on them since we’re Citadel employees. Maybe that’s what they’re looking for.” His hands were shaking now.

“Fuck! What are we going to do?” You felt panic rise in your throat for the umpteenth time that day.

What would happen if they detained you? If they went through your things. Ignis and Noctis’s contact were in your phone by name. If they got that info from you, you’d never be able to forgive yourself. You looked up to notice you were only a few people back from the guards now.

“Come on, we got to get out of here,” you said as you slowly backed away through the crowd. Mikah followed suit.

As you reached the end of the line, you both quickened your paces away from the gate.

“What are we going to do now?” you asked.

“I don’t know,” he responded, running his hands through his hair in frustration.

A terrifying sound overhead drew your attention upwards. Several large Empire craft were towing some type of abominations beneath them. Both of you watched in horror as one of their maws opened to spew out fire and rain down explosions on the city’s center.

As if the sight of that wasn’t enough to drive you to the brink of insanity, a massive, statue-like figure rose from the streets beneath it. You watched as it towered over the rooftops and swung its mace overhead, almost as if in slow motion.

It dawned on you then. The old wall! Someone had summoned forth the old wall! You had often told the stories of the massive statues said to hold the souls of rulers past on the tours you hosted back at the Citadel. They were found throughout the city and they supposedly could only be summoned by one they deemed worthy to fight for. They were also said to be Insomnia’s last line of defense, making their presence a sign of the desperate state of the city. None of your history lessons could have prepared you for the sight of them come to life, though. You were unable to tear your eyes from them. Despite the meaning of their appearance and the inherent danger you were in, you marveled that you were among the few on Eos to have ever witnessed them.

You were wrenched back to reality by Mikah pulling you down a side street by your elbow.

“Come on!” He was frantic. “I don’t know what the fuck is happening right now, but I’m getting us out of here. I left my car down the block from here. There is a service gate that leads out of the city a few miles north of here. Maybe we can get out there.”

You continued to watch the gigants fight as you approached his car. He hardly gave you the chance to close the door before he peeled out onto the street. Somehow going 60 mph through the narrow side side streets, unbuckled, no longer seemed dangerous compared to everything else you had been through and witnessed that day.

He slowed and killed the headlights as he approached the service gate ahead. He pulled the car off the side of the road behind a large box truck.

“Stay here. I’m going to go see what it looks like,” Mikah said as he left you in the running car.

You watched anxiously as he disappeared behind other cars as he crept up the street. Your thoughts went back to Ignis. What would he think if he knew what you were doing right now? You tried to call him again. ‘All circuits are...’ you sighed and ended the call. You knew a text wouldn’t go through either, but figured it was better than doing nothing. Maybe when service was restored it would automatically go through.

 **Y/n:** I love you more than you will ever know

Mikah came back to the car and interrupted your thoughts. What more do you even say in a time like this? You hit send and quickly stuck your phone back in your pocket.   
“There’s a few of those MT things, but there’s no one else around. They have some metal rails set up,” he paused, still trying to catch his breath, “but if I floor it, I think we can make it through them.”

“Are you crazy! Those things have guns!” you protested.

“But there’s only a few of them. I don’t know about you, but I’d sooner take my chances with them than what’s going on behind us.”

He did have a valid point. You took in a deep breath. “Ok.” Your breath shook on the way back out as you looked straight ahead.

Mikah gripped the steering wheel and shifted the car back into drive. Both of you fastened your seatbelts this time. He slowly straightened the car into position with the gate a quarter mile or so dead ahead. The engine roared as he pushed the gas pedal down to the floor and the tires squealed as they tried to gain purchase on the pavement. You could see the MTs start to stir down at the gate. You couldn’t stand it any longer and clenched your eyes shut and fisted the sides of the backpack sitting in your lap.

You heard Mikah growl moments before the car plowed through the blockade. You heard the metal gate getting thrown aside by the impact and then a second thud followed. The heavy scraping and then rolling noises that followed could only be from one of the MTs being hit as well.

Your grip on the backpack tightened and you let out a small scream.

“We did it! Ha ha!” Mikah shouted a moment later as his hands beat the steering wheel in victory.

The only sound was the car’s engine racing ahead down the bridge. You finally felt brave enough to open your eyes. As you did, gunfire peppered behind you, a few shots ricocheting off the back of the car.

You winced. “Don’t count your chickatrices before they hatch!” you chastised him, but at the same time felt relief for the first time that day. This less used bridge into northern Leide was wide open for you.

Unfortunately, that feeling was short lived.

A light moved over the top of the car from above, accompanied by what you had quickly learned to be the tell-tale hum of a magitek engine. As you sat forward to try to look out the front windshield above the car, Mikah let out a curse. You were thrown forward and then your head struck the passenger window as he slammed on the brakes and the car slid sideways.

Your head throbbed, and you felt something wet run down your temple as you tried to gain your bearings again. The failed attempt to turn the car around at top speed had left it stalled with your side facing the formidable sight he was trying to avoid. As you tried to start moving your limbs again, you watched as the dropship lowered to hover just above the ground. Scores of MTs and an unmanned mech dropped from its bay.

The sound of the driver’s door creaking open drew your attention to Mikah. By the look on his face, he was out of his mind with fear. In a rush of pure adrenaline, he burst from the car and sprinted back down the bridge the way you had come.

You unbuckled yourself and clumsily made your way over the center console to get out on his side. You yelled after him to stop. What was he thinking?! That was pure suicide!

As you expected, pops of gunfire erupted, and he fell to the ground mid-stride. There was no sign of movement from him after that.

As your own feet hit the pavement just outside the car, you crouched down to stay out of sight. Your mind rushed through all the possibilities that existed for you now. None of them had any favorable outcomes. As you had witnessed, run and you would be shot down. Give yourself up, and possibly be shot down, or worse – captured, tortured, and interrogated.

As you heard the clank of metal footsteps approaching from the other side of the car, you frantically looked around for any other options of escape. Your eyes stopped at the side of the roadway.

Since this bridge wasn’t normally open to public use, it was only protected by a standard guardrail. One that could be easily hurdled. It also wasn’t built as high above the water as the West Gate Bridge. You weren’t a strong swimmer, but it was a chance.

You knew you couldn’t think any longer on what you were about to do, or you would change your mind and falter. You quickly secured the backpack on your shoulders and fastened the extra waist strap around yourself. With a deep inhale, you stood and at the same time launched yourself into a run towards the guardrail.

A moment of doubt crossed your mind as your legs moved to clear the railing. The next moments would always replay in your mind in slow motion. You felt your toe scrape along the top of the rail as you barely cleared it. As you began to fall, your brain registered the sound of gunfire erupting again. A fiery pain burst through your upper left arm as your body descended into the water below.

The hard impact of the frigid water caused your breath to leave your lungs almost instantly as the present raced back into focus. As you frantically struggled to orient yourself under water, you fought against the instinctual urge to draw breath.

You finally saw a faint light that had to be the surface. You kicked your legs with all your might towards it. After what seemed to be an eternity, you finally breached the plane back into the oxygen-filled world. As all your senses rushed back to you, your breath-depraved lungs burned and caused you to gasp repeatedly.

The smell of smoke was acrid in the air. The cold water bit at you and numbed what you were sure had to be some injuries. The last sense to come back to you was your hearing. The sound of gunfire rained down from above. You could hear bullets hitting the water to your left, to where you assumed you initially entered the water. A spotlight scanned the surface, threatening to reveal you to them again.

From the dim light emanating from the city in the background, you were able to make out a girder from the bridge ahead of you. You started swimming towards it, but your left arm wouldn’t cooperate with you. You remembered the pain that had torn through it as you had made your jump. You maneuvered yourself to your right side and stroked with that arm, slowly making your way under the bridge and out of sight.

To your relief, there was a small recessed platform in the middle of the concrete column, just above water level. You struggled to hoist yourself up with just your right arm, but a final push with your foot sent you sprawling face first onto solid ground.

Now out of the numbing water, you were able to take better stock of what shape you were in. Your knees and ankles were sore, most likely from taking the brunt of your entrance into the water. Nothing seemed to be broken or dislocated, though. Your head throbbed, and you could feel a large knot above your temple from where your head hit the car window.

What concerned you most, though, was the pain in your arm that was slowly making itself known. You unzipped the soaked hoodie to look at it the best you could in the pale light. The wound was bleeding, but not severely. Most likely the cold water had helped constrict your vessels enough to staunch the worst of that. You could see it was likely a bullet that had went into your arm close to your armpit. You shuddered to think how only a matter of inches and it could have been your heart it went through instead. You zipped the hoodie back up and tried to push the pain aside for now.

The gunfire above settled after a short time, but you still weren’t ready to leave the safety of the alcove you had found. You hadn’t heard or saw the Niff ship leave yet. You scooted back against the concrete wall of the girder and leaned your head against it. Ignis’s face flashed in your mind.

You suddenly sat up straight when you remembered the last place you had put your phone. You hand shot to the pocket of your jeans and you were surprised to find it still there. Unfortunately, it was waterlogged and would no longer turn on. You felt sick. Even though you had been unable to use your phone through most of this ordeal, it was still a lifeline, still the one thing that would let you reach out to others, to Ignis. Without it now, you felt small and alone.

A throb of pain from your arm made you remember that you were hurt again. You thought about getting a potion out of the backpack, but no longer had the strength to even shrug it off your back to get one out. You tucked your knees to your chest and tried to put some perspective on what had happened in the last twelve hours. None of it even seemed real, it was like a fever dream that you still hadn’t awoken from.

At some point, you had drifted off into a troubled slumber. Your unconscious reaction was to roll over and spoon with Ignis, but you were only met by cold concrete instead. You awoke with a start.

The first signs of dawn painted the sky. It took you a moment to get your bearings of exactly where you were and then you remembered what happened the night before. You marveled at how long you had managed to sleep under these circumstances and also at the fact that you hadn’t passed away from hypothermia in the wet clothes you were in. You shivered in the cool morning breeze coming off the water and realized you still needed to make the final swim to land.

The faint light of the coming day allowed you to glimpse the shoreline. With relief, you realized it was a lot closer than you thought. The bridge crossed a narrower area of the Lucian Sound than the Insomnian-Leide Bridge did.

Dammit! you thought. How close you had come to making it across in the car. And Mikah…the thought of him being shot down replayed in your mind.

You shook your head to clear your thoughts and attempted to move for the first time that morning. Your leg muscles screamed in revolt and a fiery pain tore through your injured arm. You would have to tend to it as soon as you made it to shore.

You thought for a moment about just staying put and hoping for a rescue but realized you would be a fool to count on that. It was more likely Niff scouts would find you first.

Finally removing the backpack from yourself, you examined how well it had held up. Ignis was right about its water-resistance. Everything inside had remained dry. Now if it only stays that way on the swim to shore, you thought. You put your incapacitated phone inside and zipped it back up, carefully replacing it on your back as you tried not to let the strap touch the wound on your arm.

Bracing yourself for the shock of cold water, you lowered yourself down out of the alcove. Despite being prepared for it, the iciness still pulled the breath from your lungs. Fortune did favor you, though, as you noticed some air must have been trapped in the backpack. It served to buoy you in the water slightly. Still favoring your left arm, you slowly side-stroked your way under the bridge towards land.

As you made your way into the shallows you thought of how lucky you were that the water in the sound didn’t form the sizeable waves that the east side of Insomnia’s shores had from the sea. When you were finally able to stand up out of the water, you had to will your water-logged legs to carry your weight again.

By then, the sun was cresting the horizon on the far side of the city as you turned to face it. The beauty of the morning sky was a stark contrast to the destruction the empire had wrought upon the city the day before. The skyline was distorted from its usual glory by broken and toppled buildings. Smoke still wafted into the air throughout the city. The sight of your home in ruins was what it took to finally bring all your emotions to a head. Bitter tears ran down your cheeks as you fell to your knees and sobbed.

Your life was never going to be the same. No one’s would ever be.  
____________

You made your way along Leide’s shoreline, eyes constantly scanning the skies and reflexes jumping at every sound. You figured you were at least a half day’s walk away from the west gate. In your condition it would likely take whole a day. Unless you found some fellow Lucians to help you, you resigned yourself to having to spend another night outside.

You took advantage of a small outcrop in the rocks that ran along the hills of the shore to take a brief rest. Your wet clothes were chafing you and your injured arm was throbbing with a reminder for you to take care of it.

You stripped nude behind the rocks. The fear of being caught bare didn’t even matter to you at this point. You pulled the dry clothes from the backpack and spread the wet ones on the rocks. The sun was bright so far this morning, so you hoped they would mostly dry before you set off again.

A clean t-shirt and jeans had never felt so good. You didn’t think to bring another pair of shoes, so you would have to deal with wet feet for the day.

A pain in your stomach also reminded you that you hadn’t ate since lunchtime the prior day. Pulling more things from the bag, you found the rations and a bottle of water. There was jerky and crackers in the package. You ate and drank just enough to sate yourself. You would likely need to eat again before you reached civilization.

You finally turned your attention to examining your arm. Quite frankly, you had been avoiding it. So far, you had only glanced at it long enough to make sure you weren’t bleeding out.

You didn’t want to use a potion from the first aid kit until you knew whether the bullet was still in your arm. Potions could be wonderful things, until they healed over and trapped a foreign object in the body. The risk of infection that would cause outweighed any benefit a potion could even offer you at this point.

You steeled yourself as you turned your arm the best you could to examine it. It was definitely a bullet that had caused the injury. There was an entrance wound on the inside of the arm near the back that looked red and angry. Clear fluid was seeping from it. You looked around the rest of the limb but couldn’t find another wound to indicate it’s exit.

Damn, you thought. The bullet had to still be in there, then. You gingerly pressed on the area to see if you could feel anything. A combination of fire and electricity shot down to your finger tips and almost pulled all the breath from your lungs. You pushed through the pain as you tried to steady your breath through your teeth. You finally felt a hardness under the skin that had to be the culprit.

You decided that the potion was absolutely not an option at this point. You would have loved to get the pain relief that would have come with it, but you could tough through it if you had to. The wound didn’t look that good to begin with, closing a bullet inside would only make it worse.

Using some more items from the first aid kit, you fashioned a makeshift sling from some gauze and used the remaining length to cover the wound. Taking some weight off the arm helped dull the pain some.

After cleaning up the other scrapes and scratches on your head and forearms, you allowed yourself to rest until mid-day. You hated to dally, but your body needed to recoup just a little longer before setting out again. Even though you knew the answer, you still tried to see if you could get your phone to turn back on.

With your clothes almost dry, you packed them in the backpack and slung it over your good shoulder and set off.

Rain clouds were starting to roll in, hiding the sunshine and only deepening the mood you were in. As you walked, your thoughts went to your parents, to Hallie, to your cats – your whole life to this point swirled in front of you and you felt like you had abandoned them all. The only thing you had left was Ignis, and that was the only direction you could move in now.   
____________

As expected, dusk was settling in as you came within a few miles of the bridge. You turned to move further inland when you spotted a path that led through the rocky hills above the shore. Niffs were likely guarding this side of the bridge as well, and you didn’t want another run in with them.

Fortunately, the light rain that had plagued your walk had stopped. There was still enough daylight to make another mile or two, but a small wisp of white smoke caught your attention.

As you approached, you saw blue runes glowing on the sides of the rocky elevation. You had heard of people talking about these being spread throughout the Lucian backwaters. The runes you saw were supposed to keep beasts and demons away from those seeking refuge at the havens. As you made your way to the top, you could hear the nearby howls of some havocfangs. You were in no shape to defend yourself from a pack of them and decided this place was your best choice to settle down for the night.

You stared at the blue ring in the middle of the campsite. Whoever had used it last had left a small pile of wood off to the side. You had never been so grateful. You moved it inside the ring.

Contemplating your resources, you wadded up the last bit of gauze in the first aid kit and tucked it under the wood. You found some matches in a pocket and set the gauze alight. After a few minutes, the wood started to take the flame as well. You took off your damp shoes and socks so they could dry and wriggled your toes near the fire to warm them.

You settled down close to the flickering glow and moved the backpack under your head as a makeshift pillow. It was warmer inland, and you were thankful you didn’t have a need for a blanket that you didn’t have. Sleeping on the hard rock was at least a step up from dozing under a bridge soaking wet and with MTs on your tail. You rolled over onto your good arm and marveled at the little fire you had made. Ignis would be proud of you. The fingers on your good arm went to the necklace he had bought for you so many months ago and twirled the heart charm. You pulled your knees up to your chest and cried yourself to sleep.

The next morning you awoke with a start and a pounding heart. The dream you had fled your mind before you could remember what it was about. The cool morning air accentuated the sweat that was running down your back and beading on your forehead.

You ate some more jerky and sipped on the remaining water after you awoke more fully. You still felt like the last few days had been part of some dream world. It just didn’t seem real. You stared off into the arid distance of northern Leide and sighed.

A throb in your arm once again brought your attention to the bullet wound. The bandage was serum-tinged and looked wet. You pulled the wrapping back and it made the jerky you just ate churn in your stomach. As you fully uncovered the wound, the last bit of gauze peeled slowly off the angry, pus covered wound with a slick sound. The flesh surrounding it was bright red and you could feel heat radiating off it. You didn’t need a medical background to know that this was not good. How did it get infected so quickly?

The more you looked at it, the more your head started to spin, and you began to feel nauseous. You quickly wrapped it back up and debated on using a potion again. It was obviously infected at this point anyhow. Again, you decided against it. You were within a day’s walk of what should be a garage if you remembered your geography of the area correctly. Surely they had to have some medical supplies, or you could at least try to seek out a doctor.

Spurred on by this thought, you gathered your things and set off once more.

After a few more hours of walking, you had to rub your eyes to make sure you were seeing correctly. You could make out telephone poles and a few scattered street lights ahead.

You thanked every Astral by name as you picked up your pace. You continued to walk along the road, hoping for a car to pass by with a driver willing to give you a ride. To your dismay, two cars passed by without even so much as slowing down. Just as you resigned yourself to having to trudge on for the remaining few miles, you heard a vehicle slow down as it approached from behind.

A man in rough garb with a handkerchief tied around his neck was behind the wheel of the truck. A woman and child were seated beside him, and some broken and dejected looking people rode in the bed. It could only be assumed that they had fled the same terror that you had.

The man leaned over to talk to you through the passenger window.

“Insomnia?” he questioned with a sadness to his voice.

You could only nod your head in agreement.

“Hop in,” he said, motioning with his chin to the back. “I can drop you off with the others at the Hammerhead garage down the road. I’m headed back to the gate to see if I can pick up more refugees.”

That last word stuck with you. ‘Refugees’. Weren’t those people who had no home to return to? You realized you were just standing there staring so you gave him a nod and a thank you and moved to the back of the truck. A middle-aged man in a tattered dress shirt helped you into the bed after noticing your bandaged arm.

You looked around at the other passengers as the truck started down the road again. Everyone had the same vacant expression on their face.

You could hear the news playing on the radio through the partly opened cab window. You caught bits and pieces of the reports of devastation in the city.

“Hey, turn it up,” an older woman said leaning forward to project her voice to the driver.

The broadcaster was recapping all that was known on the attack.

“The city of Insomnia has been lost to the Niflheim Empire. The death of King Regis was reported during the initial attack, and now the sad news that his son, Noctis, and the prince’s betrothed, Lady Lunafreya of Tenabrae, have also been reported to have passed away. We will continue to keep you updated…”

The other passengers let out soft sobs of despair as your mind reeled.

No! You couldn’t believe it. Not Noctis, not Lunafreya. Your chest tightened as you realized the full implications of Noctis’s death. Ignis would have never left his side. Your heart was beating impossibly fast as your lungs cried out for the oxygen you were unable to supply fast enough. The last thing you remembered was clutching the backpack to your chest as your vision slowly blurred and blackened. Something that sounded like your voice let out a pathetic sob.  
“Ignis!”


	19. The Fall Part 2

May 14th M.E. 756

Ignis found himself sitting at the counter of Takka’s Pit Stop, face buried in his palms as he listened to Noct and Prompto bickering with Gladio over where they were going to spend the night. Gladio had been itching to break out his new camping gear, while the other two wanted nothing to do with roughing it so early into the journey.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose before replacing his glasses.

He spoke towards Noct and Prompto. “If either of you fancy a meal in the near future, then the haven it is. It won’t cost us a gil to stay there.”

He was answered with rolled eyes and groans. So far, their departure from Insomnia had turned into quite the downward spiral.

**********  
The prior day had started out busy, but docile enough.

He had picked Noct up along with The Star of Lucis. The car was going to be used to shuttle guests to and from the signing ceremony.

He parked the car in a reserved lot at the Citadel and Captain Drautos greeted them on their way into the building. As Ignis handed the keys over to him, he questioned the status on the date of the peace treaty event. An answer to the negative and a few more words to quell Ignis’s anxieties came from the captain.

As they parted, Ignis couldn’t help but feel the hair bristle on the back of his neck. There was something not quite right with the man’s demeanor that day.

The remainder of the day was spent between cleaning out Noct’s old room at the Citadel, running errands to ensure final preparations for their departure were complete, and finally packing up Noct’s current apartment in preparation for the movers to gather his things in the days to come.

It was a bittersweet day. As they sorted through his belongings, it brought back many memories and stories they shared growing up together. They talked about staying up past their bedtime to read scary stories to each other by flashlight and the times they would sneak into the kitchens between meals to steal extra snacks.

It also brought sad ones to the surface as well. When Noct found his old Carbuncle charm, Ignis remembered back to the long weeks after the prince’s injury at the hands of a daemon. He himself had been left behind to continue his studies when Noct was taken to Tenebrae to heal. Unfortunately, the prince had to endure more loss and betrayal during his time away and had returned a different, and quite depressed, young child. Ignis thought about the brave front he had put on for Noct at the time, but deep down, he had suffered almost as much along side him.

The day also brought to a head all the emotions that accompanied the fact that they were all taking the final steps out of their childhood days and into the roles that they had been groomed for their entire lives.

Ignis spent the night at the apartment so he could make sure Noct was up and ready early the next morning. As he lay awake thinking about the days to come, he listened to the steady breath of the prince sleeping beside him. He rolled over to watch his chest rise and fall and could almost imagine him being five years old again, having snuck into his room and crawled in bed with him when an overnight thunderstorm had scared him. Ignis wondered at where all the time in between had gone to.

**********  
After arriving at the Citadel early the next morning, they left the remainder of their luggage with some attendants to be loaded into the Regalia. King Regis had been kind enough to loan his car to them for the journey. Ignis was secretly jumping up and down like a child in his mind at the prospect of driving the famed vehicle.

Gladio and Prompto finally met up with them and the four made their way to the throne room to receive the king’s final blessing and words of encouragement before they left.

To Ignis’s chagrin, Noct treated the whole thing with the same casual attitude he had usually shown towards his father. He supposed a lot of it had grown from the increasing time the spent apart over the last few years. The king’s growing burden of protecting the city and Noct’s blossoming independence had a lot to do with the strain.

On their way out to the awaiting Regalia, left running for them, the king suddenly called out after them as he made his way down the stairs out of the Citadel. With a hint of sadness under his façade, he admitted that he had still left things unsaid. Ignis and the others took their leave to the car after the king made his plea to them to always stand by his son – not as their charge or even a friend, but as his brothers. Ignis personally couldn’t see it any other way. For all intents and purposes, that was what Noct was to him.

As he looked back to Noct and Regis’s private conversation, he could tell the unconcerned attitude the prince held carried over to that as well. The king gave a weak smile as Noct turned away and finished making his way down the steps to join them.

The traffic was light as they made their way out of the city via the Insomnian-Leide Bridge on the west side of the city. The music on the radio and the banter between Prompto and Noct served to lighten the mood back up. Somewhere along the way, Ignis had been coerced into letting Prompto drive once they cleared the city line.

He glanced to the skyline in the rear-view mirror as they crossed the long bridge and wondered what you were doing in that moment. He wished he would have had the time to see you one more time before he left.

As much as he wanted to, he knew he couldn’t blame Prompto for the chain of events that made up their first day on the road.

Less than ten minutes into his turn behind the wheel, the Regalia’s engine backfired, stalled, and refused to return to life.

The humiliating thought of calling back to the Citadel for help after less than an hour into their adventure was enough for them to make the decision to push the car the several miles needed to get to the service station at Hammerhead.

Ignis quietly hoped to himself that this wasn’t an omen of things to come.

**********  
Upon arriving at Hammerhead, they were greeted by a scantily clad mechanic by the name of Cindy. It turned out that she was the granddaughter of an old friend of the king’s, who just happened to own the garage - a fact that Ignis felt he should have know before he left the city.

Gladio snorted as Prompto’s eyes went wide and he started bumbling over his words in her presence. It was also taking all he could to not to stare at her ample bosom in the bikini top she wore under her jacket. Ignis had to laugh to himself as well – it seemed his relationship with Noct still didn’t stop him from losing his composure around attractive women.

As the others were checking out the small shop on the property, Ignis could feel the coming of a headache as Cindy read down the list of the repairs it would take to get the Regalia road-worthy again. It also brought to light the fact that the Crown’s currency was less than worthless outside of the city. Apparently, they used “gil” in these parts. Another fact that Ignis felt he should have been aware of before they left. His usually controllable temper was starting to flare, and it wasn’t even noon on their first day yet.

Hence, his current mood as they sat in the diner. Not only did he have the stress of ensuring everything went smoothly to get Noct to Altissia, but now he had the burden of basically having no money to do so.

The only solution was to scavenge for scraps to sell in the surrounding desert and to take on some hunts while they were out wandering. According to the posters in the diner, and Takka himself, culling nuisance wildlife paid well in these parts. It wasn’t his ideal way to spend the day, but the others seemed more than eager to put their weapons and training to use in the real world.

By the end of the day, Ignis was surprised at the bounty they had collected for their efforts. Takka even threw in some extra potions and elixirs for their trouble. The experience of the four of them fighting together for the first time had even been rewarding. It was as if they could anticipate each other’s moves and even when one of them fumbled, someone was there to pick up the slack with a quip and a joke to laugh it off.

Ignis settled the bill with Cindy before they relaxed for the evening. He had caved in to Noct and Prompto’s pleas to stay in the caravan on the Hammerhead grounds since they had some gil left over. Gladio even admitted himself that a good shower was in order after all the sweat and dust they had accumulated over the course of the day.

May 15th M.E. 756

The sight of the Regalia rolling out of the garage under its own power was one of the most beautiful sights Ignis thought he had ever laid his eyes on. If he had less dignity, he would have thrown himself on the hood and kissed it.

They decided to stick around Hammerhead until late afternoon, doing a few more menial hunts for a cushion of extra cash. Before they left they had one more meal at Takka’s before hitting the road again. They would likely be able to make it halfway to Galdin Quay before it got dark.

As they listened to Prompto sing his praises over Cindy and waited for their food to be served, Ignis pulled out his phone to call you. He felt bad he hadn’t had the time to properly speak to you since leaving, but he had warned you that was to be likely. One of the things he found so attractive about you was your independence. He was sure you were getting along just fine.

He sighed when your phone went to voicemail. It was about the time you would be wrapping up your work day. Instead of leaving a message, he sent you a text.

 **Ignis:** Just checking in to see you’re doing : ) We had a spot of car trouble. I’m sure you can guess who was behind the wheel : /

To his disappointment, you still had not responded by the time they finished eating and were ready to head out. They had overheard the cell service wasn’t very reliable in the next area they were traveling to, so he sent you another text.

 **Ignis:** We are about to leave Hammerhead. We are going to try to make it part way to Galdin Quay this evening. I was hoping to hear from you, but I suppose you would just be on your way home from work. I’ve heard the cell coverage in southern Leide is spotty at best, so I will try to call you again perhaps tomorrow evening. I cannot wait until we are back together again. I already miss sharing a bed with you (in more ways than one). Gladio snores loud enough to wake the dead and Prompto talks in his sleep. XOXO

He smiled to himself as he saw you finally answered him while they were piling into the car to leave.

 **Y/n:** I’m doing fine. Be safe and mind the ‘kids’ lol. I’ll look forward to talking to you tomorrow. I miss you (in bed - wink, wink) as well. All my love. Xoxo

May 16th M.E. 756

They arrived in Galdin Quay mid-morning after stocking up on some supplies after their overnight stay in Longwythe.

As they got out of the Regalia, Ignis took a deep breath in and savored the salt air. The rhythmic sounds of waves were peaceful. The restaurant here was said to serve the finest seafood and the accommodations were expensive, but top notch. He decided he would have to bring you here for a getaway whenever they returned.

Picturing you in a bikini lounging on the sand made him catch his breath. He had to stop his thoughts from going further lest the others question the flush in his cheeks.

After exploring the small shops and fishing dock along the beach, they made their way down the long pier to the resort.

As they approached the restaurant, a gaudily dressed stranger approached them. There was something about the man that put them all on guard.

Ignis tried to read his intentions as he informed them that the ferry to Altissia was out of service. How did that man even know that was in their plans and besides, what was it to him? Ignis had a foul feeling about him.

He was about to question him aloud when the man flicked something in Noct’s direction. Gladio’s quick reflexes caught it before it could cause harm. It was an Oracle Ascension coin minted in Altissia.

Before Ignis could react again, the man was walking off stating that he was of no consequence to them. Ignis begged to differ.

They hurriedly made their way to the docks only to be confronted by the fact that the man was speaking the truth. What was worse was that no one seemed to have a legitimate answer as to what was causing the ferry not to be running.

They all made their way back up to the couches on the deck above the ferry docking area. After brainstorming, they decided not much was to be done besides stay the night and see what the morning brought.

Ignis excused himself to see what hunts might be available in the area. The cost of the posh rooms at the resort would use just about the last of their gil. If they could make enough to cover their next few meals, they voted that they might as well indulge while they had the chance.

Ignis made acquaintances with the head chef of the Mother of Pearl. Coctura blushed furiously as he spoke to her and batted her eyelashes coyly at him now and then. It really made him miss you even more.

There were several hunts they could easily handle for her and she offered to discount their meals during their stay as a bonus. It at least made him feel a little bit better about spending so much on the accommodations.

After the hunts, Noct decided to take advantage of the fishing in the area to indulge in one of his lesser known hobbies. Gladio excused himself to join a single woman he had been eyeing up in the bar. Prompto as usual tagged along with Noct, leaving Ignis to his own devices. He decided to take the time to check into the room for the evening and review their budget and supplies before they met back up for dinner.

As he finished up his paperwork at the desk in the suite, he stretched his arms overhead and noted the sun drawing low on the horizon.

He swiped open his phone as he thought of his promise to call you that evening. He had been yearning to hear your voice since he chatted with Coctura earlier in the restaurant. The first time he hit your contact icon, the number rang an odd busy signal. He ended the call and dialed it again immediately. That time he immediately got a message, “All circuits are busy. Please try your call again later.” He stared at his phone for a moment in contemplation and then tried your number one last time. He got the same message again. Maybe it was the area they were in? He remembered Gladio speaking just fine with Iris earlier in the day, so it couldn’t be that. He checked his texts to make sure he hadn’t missed anything from you, and as expected, the inbox was empty. He sent you a text inquiring about your day, but it failed to go through.

He decided then to send out a group text telling the others he was going to make his way to the restaurant to get them a table for dinner. It went through to all of them with no problem. He pushed his unease aside and made his way from the suite.

As they sat around the candlelit table enjoying the exquisite cuisine, Ignis couldn’t help but still be disturbed by being unable to reach you.

He looked up to Gladio. “Have you heard from Iris this evening?”

“I talked to her earlier, but she was too excited about her friend coming over to even talk to me. She basically said, ‘Hi Gladdy, Bye Gladdy’ and then hung up on me,” he said with a shrug.

Ignis hummed in response. He opened his mouth to speak but decided perhaps he was overthinking the whole thing. A cell tower could be out in your area. It wasn’t like that had never happened before. He would just try you again before turning in for the night.

Dinner turned into dessert and dessert turned into a few drinks before they returned to the suite for the night. As the others readied for bed, Ignis tried to call you again. It was a late hour by this time, and he hated to wake you, but he had to get in touch with you to assuage his fears.

He still got the “All circuits are busy” message. His drawn-out sigh drew Noct’s attention as he padded out of the bathroom, toothbrush in his mouth.

“What’s up Specs?”

“I haven’t been able to get a hold of y/n this evening,” he finally admitted, a look of concern on his face. “I think there is a problem with the cell service.”

Noct shrugged non-chalantly. “I wouldn’t worry about it. Just try her again in the morning.”

Ignis wanted to take comfort in those words, but the unease he felt couldn’t be chased away so easily.

May 17th M.E. 756

Ignis awoke early the next morning. Despite the plush mattress and pillows, and the first time on the trip Gladio didn’t snore loud enough to keep him up half the night, he didn’t sleep well at all. His thoughts went immediately to you each time he woke.

He had received one text from you late that night telling him that you loved him more than he would ever know. It wasn’t unusual that you traded such endearing messages with each other. What was unusual was the fact that it was sent at 1 a.m. and his attempts to reach you again did not go through. He tried to tell himself that it wasn’t unusual for you to forget to charge you phone during the day but knowing that you relied on it for the alarm to wake you for work made this even more concerning to him.

By 5 a.m. he gave up on the prospect of trying to go back to sleep. He got up and got dressed for the day as quietly as possible before slipping out of the room undetected.

He nodded his head at an older gentleman beside him at the coffee bar set up by the overnight staff. Otherwise, not a soul stirred at this early hour.

Carrying his coffee with him, he made his way to the entrance as a young worker placed a stack of newly delivered newspapers in a rack. As Ignis approached, she picked up the top copy and her face grew pale as she examined it.

“Did you hear about this?” she said turning the headline to him.

Ice ran down his spine. In bold lettering the cover story simply read “Insomnia Falls”. His thoughts turned to anger. Whoever thought this was funny had a twisted idea of pulling a prank. He yanked the paper from her hand causing her to yelp. She grabbed another copy of the paper and scurried back over to the reception desk.

The pictures accompanying the headline showed magitek engines hovering over the city as smoke billowed below them. He quickly flipped through the remaining copies in the stack. They were all the same.

He pulled up the news on his phone and there it was again – “Insomnia Falls”. He pulled out a chair at a nearby table and sat down. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he read on. The treaty signing had been yesterday. Why had no one informed them?! He continued to scroll through the article.

_Updated 4:06 am Insomnian time  
“The death of King Regis was confirmed late last night, along with the confirmation of the theft of the crystal at the hands of the Niflheim Empire.”_

No! Ignis screamed in his mind. He knew things were amiss when he left, but not this. This was beyond what he ever could have feared.

“Oh, Astrals!” he said out loud as he stood, almost knocking the chair over behind him.

His thoughts turned to your message and his inability to reach you. Acid crept up his throat. If anything happened to you…

He paced out on the dock leading to shore and desperately hit your contact to call you again. He almost dropped his phone as his hands trembled. The call went straight to voicemail.

He let out a small sob in despair. He had to get back to the others to let them know the news. Noct. To have to tell him of the fall of the city into the empire’s hands, let alone his father’s death, no - murder? And what danger were they in themselves? This was all too much.

As he paced, he almost wanted to laugh at the irony of the situation. His upbringing and training made it easy for him to handle this situation for others, but it had hardly prepared him to handle it for himself.

His thoughts spiraled back to you. He wanted nothing more than to leave in the Regalia that second to race back into the war zone of the city and find you. His mind spun as he thought of your face, your smile, your kisses, waking up in your arms in the morning... He could feel the knot forming in his throat as tears stung his eyes. He felt lightheaded and realized he was forgetting to breathe.

He returned to the chair he had almost upturned and slumped into his hands as he struggled to compose himself. He tried to talk himself into the fact that not knowing your whereabouts didn’t necessarily mean you were unsafe. He remembered he had left you with Monica’s contact. You were just as likely to be in her care as well.

He sat up and took a deep breath. He had a duty to Noct and letting his own personal affairs intervene at a time like this had no place. He took the additional time needed to finish composing himself before heading back to their room. Once he was certain he had reined in his emotions, he stood, corrected his posture, and smoothed out his shirt. Paper in hand, he made his way to the suite to deliver the somber news. Deep inside, his heart was crushed with the guilt of having to set thoughts of you aside for now.

As he opened the door to the suite, he tried to think of the best way to break the news. How do you tell your friends that their home has been destroyed and everyone they love is either confirmed or most likely dead?

Noct saw through his façade immediately.

“What’s that look for?”

He couldn’t bear to look him in the eye. The corners of his eyes started to burn as tears threatened him again.

He turned towards Gladio and tentatively handed the news to him. “It’s in all the papers.”

Gladio took it out of his hand and stared at the headline in disbelief. Prompto sidled up to him and read it aloud.

“Insomnia Falls.”

Noct’s expression was one of pure shock and disbelief.

Gladio and Prompto continued to read the article as Noct discredited it and proclaimed it lies. Prompto looked like he was about ready to burst into tears.

Ignis felt guilt-ridden as he stood and watched his friends’ reactions unfold in front of him. He felt like he was in a waking nightmare. He had his reservations about the whole treaty. He should have been more diligent, more attentive to what was going on around him. Wasn’t that his duty? Maybe he would have noticed something to see this coming.

On the same token, he was infuriated that no one let them know the signing was yesterday. Did the king know it would end this way? Is that why he sent them off with Noct? There were too many questions that would likely never be answered.

They finally made the decision that the only way to know anything was to head back to Insomnia to see the truth for themselves.

As they made their way to the Regalia, Gladio fiddled with his phone and put it back in his pocket with a sigh.

“Can’t get a hold of Iris,” he said to Ignis’s unasked question. “I’m sure she’s with Monica, though.”

Ignis sighed and hung his head. “I can’t get through to y/n, either.”

He wanted to tell him about the last ominous text he got from you last night. He wanted to hear Gladio tell him that you were probably all right, that you were likely with Monica and Iris and safely out of the city.

He swallowed the thick lump in his throat down instead. He felt he had no place to voice his distress to Gladio. His father had likely perished in the mayhem of yesterday and he knew about as much as where Iris was as he did your whereabouts.

*************  
The drive to the Insomnian-Leide Bridge passed in a pregnant silence. It was as if no one wanted to be the first to talk lest they break down emotionally.

Ignis’s gaze kept going back to Noct in the rearview mirror. He leaned on his hand as he looked out the window through most of the ride.

As they approached the Leide side of the bridge, they saw the Niff barricade erected ahead. He cut off onto a side road to the left to avoid being detected.

Some ways down the dirt path he parked the Regalia. “Looks like we’ll have to walk from here. There should be a lookout ahead that we can get a good vantage of the city from,” Ignis said.

He sighed and caught the concerned look in Gladio’s eyes in the mirror. “And stay together and stay focused. We’re likely to encounter some scouts along the way.”

As expected, the Niff had set up a patrol along the trail leading to the hillside overlooking Insomnia. They were all taken aback at the magitek troopers at first. Word had been spreading about the “army” the Niff were building. At a recent Crownsguard meeting they had been debriefed on the monstrosities. They were still yet to be common knowledge to the general populace of Lucis, until now. He wondered if you were forced to encounter any.

Fortunately, they were low functioning units and they downed them without much difficulty.

A light rain had started to fall on the trek up the hillside. As they stepped out into the clearing at the end of the path, he could see the tendrils of smoke still rising from the city that now lay in ruins. The papers had spoken the truth. Imperial ships continued to swarm in overhead. Whoever didn’t make it out of the city yesterday were unlikely to find an easy way out now.

He had no home to go back to. None of them had a home to go back to now. Nothing from this point on would ever be the same. Nothing would ever be able to repair this.

Prompto was able to get a local radio broadcast to stream on his phone. The reporters discussed their harrowing escape from the city the evening before and were now broadcasting from somewhere south of Hammerhead. Not only did they reconfirm the death of the king, but they also made the announcement that it had been said the Lady Lunafreya and Prince Noctis had also perished as well.

Obviously lies that had been baited to the media by the Niffs. How much else of this could be believed then? Ignis thought. Prompto had dropped his phone in his shock at the announcement and bent over to pick it up to reload the news stream.

Noct, completely out of character, growled at him to leave it be. Ignis could hear the intake of air Prompto sucked in between his teeth at the outburst. Noct paced to the edge of the outlook and opened the contacts on his phone.

“Cor?”

Ignis knelt to give the shell-shocked Prompto his phone back. Still kneeling, he stared at his own phone blankly. Looking back to his home that lay in ruins across the sound, tears threatened his eyes again.

What did you go through? It had to be unimaginable. He desperately wanted to know where you were. Not knowing was more than unbearable now. He had so far been able to pretend you were ok, but now seeing the city like this…

He swiped open his phone and his finger hovered over your picture he had assigned to your contact. Hitting it, he squeezed his eyes closed in a silent prayer that maybe you would answer this time.

“Hey, this is y/n. You know what to do!” beep…

He listened to the silence that followed your voicemail recording.

Noct’s conversation with Cor grew louder and pulled Ignis out of his daze. Standing, he listened to Noct calming somewhat as the Marshall must have put things into perspective for the prince. He ended the call and let his phone hang in his hand at his side as they all looked back out over the sound in a heavy silence.

The quiet carried over to the ride back to Hammerhead to meet with Cor. Unfortunately, by the time they reached the service station, he had already headed off on a tip he wanted to check out. He had left instructions for them to make their way to the Prairie Outpost to the northwest to meet up with Monica.

Hearing her name gave Ignis some hope, if only for a minute. If she was there maybe you had made it out. Maybe you were even there with her or at least she had word of your whereabouts.

Even though he wanted to head out to her location immediately, he suggested that they should grab a bite to eat at Takka’s before they left. Who knew what they were going to get into there and doing so on an empty stomach wasn’t exactly ideal.

Once their meals were served, none of them seemed to have much of an appetite after all. Food was mostly shuffled from side to side on their plates. Prompto, as usual, tried his best to lighten the mood, passing his camera around to share the photos he had captured at Galdin Quay the day before.

They reached the outpost in the early afternoon. The rain had let up while they were in Hammerhead, and by the time they arrived there, peaks of sun were shining through the thinning clouds

They found Monica in one of the buildings chatting to a local hunter. Her expression softened to one of relief when she saw the four of them enter.

“I’m so glad all of you are safe!” she nodded to them.

She filled them in on some details of the horror that unfolded the day and night before. To Gladio’s relief she and another Crownsguard member, Dustin, were able to get Iris along with Jared and Talcott out of the city before things had gone too far south. Dustin was on his way with them to Lestallum as they spoke.

Noctis questioned Cor’s whereabouts just as Ignis was going to inquire about you. He sighed and reined himself in internally. He needed to keep his focus on Noct and their group for the time being.

Monica informed them that he had scouted on ahead after hearing news of a tomb that had long been forgotten in the ruins ahead. He was expecting them to meet up with him after she debriefed them.

Noct and Gladio wanted to head back to check out the munitions shop set up in the back of a box truck and naturally, Prompto tagged along.

Ignis hesitated. He was satisfied with the weapons he had stashed for himself in the armiger. He had to ask her about you.

“Hey, Specs – you comin’?” Noct called back over his shoulder.

“Go on ahead, I’ll catch up,” he called after them.

He turned to Monica and took a deep breath. She seemed to anticipate what he was going to ask.

“Have you heard from y/n?” he asked her, voice coming out softer than he intended.

She sighed. “I’m sorry, Ignis. I haven’t. Iris tried to call her before we left, but she couldn’t get any calls to go through. She was upset that we didn’t try to find her. I wanted to get her out of the city for you, too, but we had to get out when we did.” She paused and looked at Ignis. “I hope you understand.”

Ignis nodded and swallowed thickly. “Yeah.” His voice waivered and threatened to crack. “Thank you, for thinking of her. I know you went above and beyond with Iris and the others. We appreciate all you’ve done.”

She nodded back to him in acknowledgment. By then the others had made their way back to them and Ignis composed himself again.

Gladio caught the tail end of his deep breath and gave him a concerned raise of an eyebrow. Ignis shifted his gaze away from him and up to the dirt path leading to the former town of Keycatrich.

“We should be on our way, the Marshall is expecting us.”

He walked away from the outpost first and the others followed him.

They found Cor waiting for them just inside the entrance to the tomb. The man was as stone-faced as ever, at least to those who didn’t know him better. Ignis could see the minute signs of grief and exhaustion creeping out from under his mask.

Cor had inexplicably been put on duty outside the city on the day of the signing - at least it seemed that way at the time. It was all too apparent now that it was a tactical movement to ensure his continued service to Noct. Ignis knew it had to be tearing the man apart to know he was spared while his king and friends were torn prematurely from this realm.

Ignis had learned about the tombs extensively throughout his education. Said to house the soul of the royal arms that could only be borne by the kings of Lucis, to be standing inside one was humbling to no end. He thought of your love of the history of Lucis and thought how he’d have to bring you here someday to witness this in person. His heart clenched again at the thought of you.

His attention turned back to Noct as he stepped forward to accept the Sword of the Wise from the soul of his ancestor. As the ghost of the weapon spun around him and then seemingly entered his body, as the rest of them stood awestruck.

As they left the tomb and walked the path back to the entrance, Cor explained the importance of trying to find as many of these ancient tombs as possible. The more souls that Noct could possess, the stronger he could grow to fight back against the Empire.

Cor escorted them through the ruins of Keycatrich, battling some beasts and some magitek troopers along the way. He led them to an entrance to a labyrinth built into the rock that supposedly held another tomb within its depths. He bid them farewell, citing the need to take care of some things back at Hammerhead before night fell. He was pleased by their prowess in battle and told them they should have no trouble with the foes that lay inside. Even Prompto, with his relatively recent training, had managed to impress the man. Ignis personally knew that was no easy task.

As they made their way through the dimly lit ruins, Ignis found himself becoming more and more distracted. Perhaps he was getting tired, or maybe it was the weak daemons they were encountering that made him let his guard down more than usual. When he was unexpectedly toppled by a mere goblin, Gladio finally pulled him aside down a carved-out tunnel. Once he made sure Noct and Prompt were far enough ahead to not overhear him he spoke.

“What’s going on Ig? This isn’t like you. You’re better than this.”

Ignis sighed as he chose his words. “I suppose my mind is elsewhere. I’ll be more vigilant.”

Gladio opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Noct calling for them down the main tunnel. He closed his mouth and nodded to Ignis, clapping his hand on his shoulder as he walked past him to join the others.

Ignis brought up the rear and the trudged on through the ruins. After fighting off some stronger daemons, they finally came across the door to the tomb. They also found a curiously marked door down a narrow tunnel on the other side of the dead end. Ignis tucked the information away for a later time and they made their way back over to the tomb entry.

Noct unlocked it with the key given to him by Cor. Perhaps because it was less ventilated than the prior one, this tomb had a strong odor of dampness and musty decay. Light moss covered some of the carvings in the tomb. Noct once again summoned the power of his ancestors and claimed the weapon that rightfully belonged to his bloodline. Ignis noted how Noct, within the space of a day, already seemed more stern and mature. It was almost as if Regis himself was trying to live vicariously from the beyond through his son.

They hastily made their way back through the area to exit, cleaning up some overlooked daemons along the way. By the time they made it out, the sun was beginning its descent from the late afternoon sky.

Gladio stretched his arms overhead as they walked back to the outpost. “Should probably find a haven soon.”

Ignis pulled his phone out to check the time. 7:13 p.m. “Yes, it would probably be best. I believe I saw one just down the road on the way here.”

Noct and Prompto looked at each other and groaned. Gladio playfully swatted Prompto on the backside of his head as he walked past him.

“Hey!” He shot a dirty look at the back of Gladio’s head.

“Come on, princess. A little camping isn’t gonna to kill you,” Gladio laughed back at him over his shoulder.

Noct snorted and Prompto gave him a dirty look as well, before laughing himself. Ignis was relieved to hear at least some good humor from everyone again. He looked at his phone one last time before putting it back in his pocket. He wanted to be sure he hadn’t missed any messages from you.

The outpost didn’t have a lot in the way of foodstuffs, but they at least had some teriyaki sauce he could use on some of the trevally Noct had caught while they were in Galdin Quay the prior day. After restocking their potions, Ignis drove the Regalia down the road and parked just outside the haven.

The four of them helped unload the camping equipment from the Regalia. Gladio set up the tent while Ignis set about figuring out how to work the camp stove. Prompto set up the chairs, while Noct lit the campfire with a weak spell.

Dusk fell quickly, and the sound of nighttime insects took the place of chirping birds. Ignis stood over the fish cooking on the grill and thought about all that had happened in the span of just a day. He absentmindedly pushed the fish around as his mind wandered to the thought of what he would do if he had to finally admit that something had happened to you…that you hadn’t escaped the attack. His chest tightened. The thought frightened him more than any of the daemons in the Keycatrich ruins combined.

He heard Noct say his name like he was repeating himself and he turned to him startled, with a blank expression on his face.

“Sorry?”

“I was asking if you wanted an Ebony with dinner? Gladio’s getting the drinks out of the cooler.” Noct looked at him with concern when he stood there, staring at him processing what he just said.

“Uh, yes. That’s fine,” he finally answered.

Ignis turned back to the fish to flip it and realized he had partially burned that side. He sighed and brushed some of the teriyaki sauce on it, hoping it wouldn’t taste too overdone.

They sat around the fire chatting while they ate. Each of them skirted around anything that would bring up the state of the city. There would be enough time in the days ahead to dwell on that. There was no sense in ruining their meal over it now. And thankfully on the same note, no one brought up the fact that he still hadn’t heard from you. Ignis didn’t think he could keep himself together tonight if he heard your name spoken aloud.

Prompto helped him clean up the dishes before heading into the tent with Noct to settle down for the night. Ignis made some hot coffee and sat down in his chair in front of the fire. He pulled out his phone again and pulled up your contact. His heart warmed at the sight of your smiling face looking back at him. He hit the call button but didn’t bother to bring the phone to his ear. He could hear it in his hand quietly go straight to voicemail.

Gladio closed the book he was reading and came to stand behind Ignis. He looked over his shoulder at his phone to see a photo of the two of you he had pulled up from his photo album. He put his hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“She could still be ok, Iggy.” He paused for a moment. “Don’t stay up too late ok?” He made his way into the tent as well and zipped the flaps half up.

Ignis finally let out the sob he had been holding in as he squeezed his phone in frustration. He took his glasses off and sat them and his phone in his lap as he sunk his head into his trembling hands. The tears he had so desperately been holding back finally fell freely down his cheeks.


End file.
